Joker of the Pack
by Fox the Writer
Summary: There's a wild card thrown into our lives when we least expect it, and then suddenly everything changes, for better, for worse, or for the unknown!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Another crossover is up, thanks to the evil influence of two people who shall _not_ be named. You know who you are when I say thank you for the influence! X)P

That said, let's get down to basics behind this crossover-the RR universe is set within my own fanfiction world, with ideas and characters borrowed from various writers, including Cakelesspixels and One Lucky Unicorn, and the credit is given to them for their support and inspiration. There will be hints and pieces of other _Warner Bros._ properties making cameos, but for the most part, because the Road Rovers are going to be interacting with the Space Rangers, this story will be categorized underneath crossovers!

For the BLoSC universe, it is set within my own version of BLoSC-Land, where certain concepts and characters will make their appearances here, including two OFCs.

Without further ado, I give you..."Joker in the Pack".

Disclaimer: As mentioned, some of the ideas mentioned in this story will belong to Cakelesspixels and One Lucky Unicorn, but the rest of the RR universe will live in the home of Warner Bros. My ideas live with me, and the known characters and concepts for BLoSC will forever live in the wonderful world of Disney.

* * *

Space…the final frontier. Or one of the final frontiers, which exists between Earth and the rest of the Milky Way, light and shadow. Some pioneers had yet to travel beyond the edge of the solar system, save a collected few.

The large space ship, the _SR Endeavor_ , floated through empty space, among the stars and bits of debris that existed outside their ship. The _SR Endeavor_ , shaped like a flying Frisbee, flew as the crew aboard navigated over the Earth's boundary.

The crew? A pack of four dog-like humanoids, known as cano-sapiens. Their team name? Space Rovers.

Their leader, the Afghan hound named Persia, peered outside the large windows as they overlooked the planet they had been sworn to protect, thanks to their master's orders.

She turned to one of the two Rovers in front of her, at the cockpit. "See anything, Gawain?" Her Russian accent was thick but direct.

The Scottish deerhound, in his usual heavy Scottish accent, answered, "No, all's clear. Not a sign of Parvo or anything to conquer Earth. Not that I'm expectin' him to—it's been weeks since the Road Rovers put up with him."

Persia nodded. "Well, if I know the Master right, he'd probably still believe that Parvo's still there. Muzzle might be tough, and unpredictable, but Parvo's tougher than that. Which is why the Master's got us patrollin' the Milky Way."

But what were the Road Rovers in particular doing, she and the space crew wondered?

The Road Rovers, as the Master christened them as such, were currently relaxing in the lounge of their headquarters. There were five of them, six if one counted the deranged Rottweiler strapped to a stretcher and trapped in a straitjacket and…muzzle, covering his snout.

All of them hung out.

The Goldador Hunter, was the leader of the pack, was playing with his favorite green tennis ball. He threw it into the wall before it bounced back and returned to its owner.

The second in command, Colleen, was poring over a martial arts magazine on the couch, which was fitting given her mastery over the arts. The Rough Collie would flit over her magazine from time to time to watch her Huntie Wuntie playing with his ball.

If she were to peek over her magazine, she'd see two of her teammates engaged in a game of chess. The player controlling the white chess pieces was the Doberman Road Rover named Blitz. It was his turn, and he was playing against his opponent in charge of the black chess pieces, Exile the Siberian husky. The two were focused on their game, so focused that they had spectators. Muzzle the Rottweiler and Shag, a giant Sheepdog, knew that they had to keep quiet as the two played the most dangerous game of all time.

A game of wits.

All was peaceful, quiet…and uncharacteristically DULL for the Rovers. Nothing was going on—no emergencies, no crises, nothing. So they were passing the time by until they decided to go home to their respective countries or until some hooligan would try to disrupt the balance of the world.

Whichever came first.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a galaxy far far away…

"Come back here with my arm, mutt!"

The 'mutt' in question was running away with the robot's limb, playing with him and enjoying the chase of the day! "No way! If you want it so much, you'll have to catch me!"

The robot named XR pouted as he treaded down the space station's hallways, determined to catch the pesky dustchaser and get his detached arm back! "But that's cheating! You're the fastest dog there is—there's no way I could catch up with you! Come to think of it, neither could anybody else here. But I want my arm back!"

"Nuh-uh! I ain't givin' it back!" The dog 'yelled' through her interactive collar as she kept running with the mechanical limb trapped in her jaws. This was all too fun for her! She looked back to see the robot Space Ranger still on her tail. Heh, he was moving so slow in comparison to her!  
"C'mon, XR, I know you can catch me! You're supposed to think like a Ranger, remember?!"

"And you're supposed to _behave_ like one too, Pix!"

Uh-oh…she knew that voice.

She turned around and began slowing down her speed just in time to see a very irritated man standing in the middle of the hallway in his white and green Pulsar-400 Enviro-suit. He had his arms crossed and was shooting a pointed brown-eyed glare at the dog.

Standing next to him was a black-haired and fairly skinned woman, also with arms crossed and also looking less than impressed with Pix's behavior.

Pix skidded to a complete halt in front of her team with XR skidding down not too behind.

The two came to a stop.

XR smirked in triumph; she was caught in her tracks by her owner.

Pix was sitting there with XR's arm in her teeth and feeling very small underneath the humans' glares. Her ears flattened in fear as she attempted to cheerfully greet them. "Uh…hi, Ty. Hi, Simone. What's up?"

The stony silence only made the dog gulp. She was in trouble now.

* * *

 **A/N:** Simone and Pix are OFCs of mine for _Buzz Lightyear of Star Command_. Simone actually made her debut in "Glory Days" as a small cameo, and Pix is in "His Dog's Voice". They do show up in other tales I've written and will for as long as I have ideas for them.

So I hope you've enjoyed this short chapter-this chapter was mainly used to gradually build up both worlds since there is going to be a long of explaining to do for both sides of this crossover. Let me know what you liked, hated, loved, whatever, and I'll see you on the other side. Happy days! :)


	2. Chapter 2

Ty ordered, "Drop it."

She opened her jaws. The arm fell to the metal floor with a clank.

Its owner wheeled over to the arm, picked it up, and slid it back into his shoulder socket. He waggled a lecturing finger to Pix, "See what happens when you mess with one of Team Lightyear's finest operatives? You get **caught**! You'd better learn to remember that, Pixie!"

XR yelped as Pix shoved her snout into his glass helmet, teeth bared. "Don't call me Pixie! You know I hate that name, X-Can!"

He stabbed a finger into her robotic shoulder. "Hey, the name's _XR_ , not _X-Can_! And I can call you whatever I want, you scruffy-looking b-"

"Enough! Both of you!"

XR and Pix looked up at Ty, who was holding a hand to his temple to nurse a headache. "Now _isn't_ the time to get into an argument about this. Pix, you know better than to go off and take XR's limbs."

Pix literally whined, "I can't help iiiiit! We haven't had a REAL mission for _days_ -we've mostly been patrollin' in space and on planets and it's getting me down. I want actiooooon!"

The patrols in question were one objective of the Space Ranger Corps. Overall, their jobs were to protect and defend the galaxy from enemies who threatened the peace and balance that its central government, the Galactic Alliance, worked so hard to create between all existing planets. Although the Space Rangers' line of work demanded patience and quick thinking, there were times when things could be slow and dull which could sink into a Ranger's frame of mind. As some Rangers like Pix currently exhibited.

"Yeah, but stealing parts from robots doesn't excuse your boredom. If you want some action, we'll try to work something out."

"Better listen to him, missy!"

She growled at XR, "Shut your mouth, or I'll rip you to-"

"PIX. Enough. Now apologize to him. SINCERELY."

Pix grumbled under her breath at her owner's warning. But she relented and turned to XR. She took a deep breath and made an effort. "Fine. XR, I'm sorry I stole your arm. I was bored and it was wrong. I'll try to make it up to you by making _myself_ refrain from stealing your parts. Is that better?"

In thought, XR tapped his glass helmet. "Hmm... well, that apology could work. It's a start, mutt. Add in about how I'm better than you and you're fully forgiven."

Before Pix could think of getting in a snippy remark, Simone was quick to jump in, "Well! Now that that's all settled, we should be on our way then. Right, Captain?" She held a soft Outback accent.

"Right." He turned to his dog, giving her a sharp glare. "Now, c'mon. We've got our patrol assignment. I don't wanna hear any more complaining outta you. Get it?"

"Got it, sir."

"Good." Ty sent XR an apologetic frown. "Sorry about the trouble, XR."

XR nonchalantly waved it off. "Ah, don't worry about it, my man. I'm just happy you managed to get her under control and even happier to have my arm back." He threw in a smug smile at Pix, who gave back a fiercely irritated sneer. "Well, I'm off to do some Ranger stuff with the team. See you later!" He rolled away, happy that Pix was punished for her action.

Pix grumbled under her breath, something along the lines of 'squealer' and 'trash can'. She was reprimanded for her remarks by a warning from Ty, "Enough grousing. We've got work to do. Now let's go." He led the way, with Simone and Pix following behind.

Simone asked, "So where are we going to do our patrol today?"

"We're assigned to patrol around Rhizome. Our ship's all ready to go."

"I see. Anything else besides that?"

"No, not yet. I guess we're gonna be patrolling it for a few hours until our shift is done or something happens."

"I hope something does."

Simone sighed. "We get it, Pix; you want something to happen. But groaning about it won't help and it won't make things go any faster. Just take it easy and think about something you'd like to do after we're done if we don't have anything come up."

"Which WILL NOT include taking off with more robot limbs, by the way."

Pix's ears deflated as Ty ruined her fantasy. DRAT. This was going to be a boring day.

* * *

So far, this was turning out to be a boring day.

"Anything so far?"

Gawain shook his head. "Nothin' so far. All seems pretty quiet up here in the wide open."

"Hm..." She turned in her seat to ask the Scottish Terrier at the left side of the large cockpit, "What about you, Jack? Anything?"

The cano-sapien shook his head, atypical of his silent demeanor.

Persia returned her gaze to the front control board. "Well, let's do one more sweep and then we can call it a day."

"Don't you mean eternal night?"

Persia smiled and rolled her eyes at Tina's correction. "Just jet forward and let's go. We don't want to worry The Master."

The Cocker Spaniel smirked and responded in a light Venezuelan accent, "Yes, ma'am." She pushed forward on the lever and the ship's power increased. The ship circled around the Earth once before going back into the deep reaches of space.

The Master in question was the mysterious but benevolent human boss for all of the Rover teams and a lover of dogs at heart. He wanted to make sure they did their jobs and also come back in one piece in spite of the dangers. Which was why he selected Persia and her team to patrol the reaches of space; even if the Earth was in good hands in the Road Rovers, outer space was where the unknown lay in blackness. A good pack of dogs with the highest levels of stamina, endurance and determination were fit to go where no dog went before.

Even into the edges of their solar system.

The team passed the silver moon. They passed Mars.

"Everything's checking out so far, Captain."

"Then all's clear with the inner planets. Let's pay a visit to the outer planets."

They left the stream of terrestrial planets behind.

When they arrived to the first of the outer planets, Gawain was already scanning for any sign of activity.

"Well?"

Once more, Gawain shook his head at Persia's inquiry. "Nothing around Jupiter. All's as quiet as...wait."

"Yes?"

Gawain tapped in some buttons as he rechecked over his readings. "Oh boy, do we have somethin' showin' up. We got a visual, around the other side of the planet. Seems to be something as big as the gas giant here."

"Then let's see what's on the other side. Tina, bring the ship forward to our destination."

"Yes, Captain." When Persia's voice hardened, no questions were asked. It was important just to get the job done.

Tina pushed forward on the ship's control panel. The ship put on a burst of speed, zooming by Jupiter. If one were fortunate, they could catch a glimpse of the planet's exterior. The heavy clouds and dust particles covering the planet speckled the large celestial body, hiding its gaseous form away from all curious visitors.

But not all visitors were discouraged by Jupiter's thick elemental layers.

Behind one half of the beautiful planet held the other. And it put the Space Rovers on alert.

"Oh my... slow the ship down and put up the invisible shield! We don't want them to see us!"

"Shield on, ma'am."

"Good. We're safe for the moment. I'd better contact The Master. Put me through to headquarters!"

* * *

"Another day, another inventory of samples to be taken." As was typical of Professor Hubert's line of work. The bloodhound spent another fine day going over the samples of all the citizens of the animal kingdom using the finest form of technology known to cano-sapiens: the nose.

"Let's see...the wolf samples are in place. What's next...oh yes the whooping crane's sample needs to go back into place. There." He crossed his arms, proud of his handiwork. Another job well done. He picked up the samples from the table he was working on and put them away into shelves of the large filing cabinet. The cabinet was big enough to contain every fur, feather and scale sample known to the world; it was like having a library compacted into one!

He strolled down the high ladder and went to go wash his hands in a nearby sink.

A few minutes into washing his hands clean of any microorganisms, an alarm blared from his computer situated on his desk. He immediately dried his hands off and jogged over to the computer. He typed in a few commands before the screen faded to black. A white flash burst and Persia's face was shown on-screen.

"Professer Hubert?"

"Captain Persia?"

"Where's The Master?"

"Oh, he's in the middle of an important experiment, he can't be interrupted now. What is it?"

"Maybe you can give the message for me then. We've just picked up somethin' distressing on our hands behind Jupiter and need to let the Road Rovers know about this right away."

"Jupiter? What's going on?"

"Parvo. General Parvo. He's back."

* * *

 **A/N:** Another story update finished, baby! Now it's time to clear up any confusion. For those who don't know, Gawain, Jack and Tina are fan-given names to the Scottish deerhound, black Scottish Terrier, and red Cocker Spaniel, with Gawain's name attributed to OLU (One Lucky Unicorn) and/or /That One Evil Writer, and Jack and Tina provided by me. The name Jack is actually a reference to Jock of Disney's animated film, _Lady and the Tramp_. Jack here looks like Jock quite a bit, I couldn't help but make a connection to that character. I'm also gradually taking time to explain things to both sides so that no one gets overwhelmed with the information from both shows, so in time, you'll know who the Space Rangers and/or Road Rovers are.

Ty has his own team, so he's the Captain of it. His rank was never mentioned in the actual show, but he wasn't a Captain in the original source material so he's one here. Yay.

In the meantime, leave a comment below with what you liked, disliked, etc. Enjoy and have happy days! Peace.


	3. Chapter 3

Hubert was alarmed. "Parvo? Back?"

"That's what I said, Professor. He's back and hauntin' outer space. We don't know what he's doin' out here by Jupiter, but whatever it is, we'll find out and keep you informed."

"Then I'll tell the Master right now. Be careful, Space Rovers."

"Will do."

And the transmission was cut, allowing Hubert to dash off and retrieve the Master.

* * *

After Persia hung up on Hubert, she commanded the team, "Alright everyone, let's see what Parvo's up to. Slowly ease forward."

"Yes, Captain."

The ship prowled slowly, under the cover of invisibility.

* * *

Two figures, sheltered from the cold and cruel constrictions of outer space by their durable space suits, were hovering nearby a threshold with tools in hands. The dominant leader, hulking in muscle and ego, was General Parvo. His greedy eyes tailed every inch of the machine as he worked with his hands. The Groomer, in contrast, was slender in physique and the calmer of the two, but still equally as dangerous and hard-working than her boss.

The planet Jupiter floated nearby, eclipsing viewers from witnessing evil at work.

"Oh, this will be glorious, Groomer. Once the portal is complete, we'll be able to activate this wormhole under our own control and use it as a trap for those PETS of Shepherd's." The venom stemming from Parvo's tone was enough to make the Groomer slightly cringe as she was connecting two bits of machinery into the giant portal.

The portal itself, which was a flat and electric blue leap pad of space, was held in a black mechanical ring. The gateway brimmed brightly. So bright that both Parvo and Groomer needed to wear goggles as they floated in space to work on the gateway.

The Irish woman clad in red turned from her work to face her incredibly muscular and half-robotic employer. She asked, "Aye, General, that it will. But how will we attract their attention this time?" The last time they tried that, it ended on a very sour note with the two of them changing some portion of Parvo's history. Even if Parvo had no memory of it at the present time.

"I have a solution to that, my dear." He spared her a glance and responded, "First we send a distress signal. And then, once we capture _them_ , we can then hurl them through time and space to rid of them FOREVER! And by the time anybody's figured out that they've disappeared, it'll be too late! The asteroid belt and Jupiter's size will keep others from saving those MUTTS." A nasty cough irritated his throat, evolving into a hacking fit. Groomer wasted no time in coming over to help him. But as soon as she approached him, he roughly barked out, "Lozenge!"

Groomer didn't need anything else to be said; she reached into her handbag to retrieve the medicine. But as she rummaged through her pack, she reached a grim conclusion. "Oh, no."

'Oh, no?' What's 'oh no'?!"

"There's one lozenge left, but I dunno if it's tae flavor ye'd like, sir."

"What flavor's that?"

"...Lime."

"Drat!"

He went into another coughing fit again, prompting Groomer to quickly assure him, "But I think there may be more flavors on the ship. I'll go retrieve the cherry flavor."

"No, Groomer! No, I'll come with you. I need fresh oxygen."

And not another word was said as Groomer took her general by the shoulders to help him back into their large and vicious bulldog-molded ship.

* * *

Although Parvo's plan would, like most things, not go the way he planned.

"You all heard that?"

Tina answered, "I did, Captain. What's our next course of action?"

The Space Rovers watched and waited as Persia thought the situation over. The Space Rovers were fortunate enough to catch onto Parvo's plan, and there was no way that they would be willing to put the Road Rovers into danger. They would try to apprehend him and the portal while he was off his guard, but they would need some backup going up against a dangerous enemy such as him.

Very well.

Persia ordered again, "Let's contact the Master again and have him send the Rovers. And in the meantime..." She narrowed her eyes.

"We say hello to Parvo."

* * *

"Rovers, report to the Debriefing Room. NOW."

The Rovers spared no moment of time hurrying to the room they were beckoned to. The room was expansive, round and painted with silvers and shades of grey.

Once they arrived and sat in the seats around a round table, they were greeted by a white glow from up above. Bathed within the light and sitting high above them in a large chair like a wise and just king was a human clothed in a silvery white laboratory coat, equally as white as his eyes and long hair.

The Master.

"Greetings, Road Rovers."

"Greetings, Master!"

He gestured with a hand towards the giant monitor screen on the wall before the team. The screen showed images of the Space Rovers engaged in a game of laser tag with Parvo and his small army of flying ships. "Here's your assignment: we've just been informed by the Space Rovers and Hubert that Parvo is at it again." His composed tone was also treading with subtle urgency; anything to do with Parvo was never a good thing, given the rocky past between the two individuals.

Hunter asked, "What's he up to now? I thought he'd still be lickin' his wounds after the way Muzzle tore into him and Groomer last time." He turned to his side and threw a smirk to Muzzle, the Rottweiler snickering at the memory.

"Parvo and Groomer have been building a portal in outer space using a wormhole as the main power source. They plan to send a fake distress signal with the hopes that you would respond and then fall into their portal with no way to return."

"But where does the portal go to?"

"Somewhere outside our galaxy and in another time."

The Rovers all exchanged dumbfounded glances. Space and time?

Exile voiced the team's collective confusion. " _Chto_? But Parvo tried that in past. Why is he trying again with device?"

"It seems that his attempt to change time and history has left considerable damage onto his memory. Because of what happened, he does not remember events the same way as he did before."

Colleen mulled over this matter, her hand rubbing underneath her chin. "So he doesn't remember tryin' to mess around with the time stream then? Betcha Groomer tried explainin' that to 'im and he brushed it off before goin' ahead with his plan."

"Exactly, Colleen. And even if you're aware of what he's planning, you must still go to help the Space Rovers. As we speak, they're stalling Parvo long enough for you to come and assist them. You must also retrieve that portal; as long as it's in Parvo's grasp, no one or nothing will be safe from its power. It must be brought back here where I can study it."

"And if I may interject, you'll need the latest tools to apprehend Parvo and Groomer. If I may, Master."

The Master smiled as Hubert himself appeared from the right wing of the room. "Of course, Professor Hubert."

The Rovers bid a quick hello to the bloodhound as he approached the table. And after greeting everybody back, he got down to business. "The Master and I have worked on improving your computers and technology on the _RR Millennium_. You'll have access to new space suits, communications systems, and even portable transdogmifiers."

The talk of all new technology and everything was fascinating to every one of the Rovers, but the thought of implementing the transdogmifiers on their ship was a little unheard of.

Blitz piped in, "Transdogmifiers? Why place them on the ship? And do the other teams get them too?"

The Master answered, "Yes, the Space Rovers received their technology first for their space missions. If these upgrades work for you as well, then the Pathfinders, the Ferreteers and the Akashic Guardians will be obtaining their upgrades afterwards. The transdogmifier is a device that can help other dogs and I want to test how it may fare when it's on the go."

Exile, ever the techno-savvy cano-sapien, was excited about this news. "Does that mean the other vehicles will get these upgrades?"

Hubert answered, "If they hold up within outer space, then yes. But there is one adjustment we made for the transdogmifer." He pulled out a remote from his lab coat pocket, aimed it at the screen and pushed a button. The screen flashed and faded to black momentarily before it started up again and switched over to a image of the transdogmifier's blueprint. The machine itself looked like a giant tube just as the Rovers knew it to be shaped. "Not just any dog can enter it. A Road Rover, or any Rover, must be present to place their handprint, or paw print, on a scanner, as you can see here." Another push of a button and the screen increased its magnification onto the scanner attached to the machine. "Once a Rover does this, the machine will be open to you and other dogs to be transdogmified."

"So we've got extra security detail for the transdogmifier. Cool!"

The Master agreed, "Indeed, Hunter. Now it's time for you to go and put them to use."

Hunter sprung up from his chair, ready to start the mission. "Got it, Master. Let's hit the road, Rovers!"

And they were off!

* * *

"Approaching Rhizome in ten minutes."

"Roger that, Captain."

"Once we land, let's check in with Professor Triffid. Commander Nebula told me before we took off that he wanted us to meet up with Triffid and see Rhizome's latest technology."

"Understood. How are you doing back there, Pix?" Simone turned her head to see Pix's miserable self lurking in the back of the cockpit.

Ty would only roll his eyes at Pix's flat bark of boredom echoing from the back of the bridge.

Simone hid attempts to sigh at Pix's silly doggy antics. That dog could sometimes be overly dramatic over the smallest of things. So she tried to appeal to Pix's desires to cheer her up. "Have you thought about what you'd like to do after we're done here?"

Pix, who was curled into a stewed hairball on the floor the entire flight, perked her ears and eyes up. She completely forgot about Simone's advice. "Uh..."

Ty and Simone shared deadpan frowns. "I'm guessing that's a no." Ty leaned on the armrest of the chair to spare a thoughtful glance towards his dog. "Well look. I've got an idea if you can't come up with anything. Since you've been wanting to see some action lately, how about we visit your brother and family back on Karn? I can't guarantee we might be able to see them right away, but I'm sure Dr. Furbanna wouldn't mind the company."

If Pix was a cowgirl in a yodeling contest, she would have won first prize. She yelled and whooped in tremendous joy, and in a blur, rushed over to the control panel and up to Ty's chair.

Ty kept a hand on Pix's snout from licking his whole face clean off when she nagged and begged, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I wanna see my brother! I wanna see Aura! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Poor Ty was trying to balance calming his dog down and piloting the ship. "Ok, Pix, ok, calm down, calm down! Sit-hey, I'm not done with my offer yet!"

Luckily for him, Pix stopped trying to kiss him and settled down on her haunches. She tilted her head in confusion. "'Not done yet?' Whaddaya mean?'"

Ty wiped off excess dog drool off his features in disgust quietly before pointedly addressing his plucky pup. "There's a catch to this. If you want this to be a thing, you've gotta behave. No whining. No sneaking off to run. And NO digging. No activity of the doggy kind. I know how much you like to run, but don't forget, we ARE on patrol. On Rhizome. Which means you've gotta work and KEEP your mind on your work. Understand?"

He was aware of his rules and how Pix would react to them, normally taking them with a firm and hard-working 'yes'. This time, however, her attitude soured again, if only for a short moment of time. She sighed in exaggeration, her ears wilting like flowers on a wintery day. She remembered that this _was_ going to be another day of keeping guard on a peaceful planet. And her master just HAD to bring it up to her. But she didn't want to blow Ty's proposal and ruin the mission for the sake of her team. She really did want to see Aura, and Karn was known for having plenty to do for her and for having room to run in the wide jungle plains. The faster they got through this patrol sweep, the better. So she admitted defeat and responded, "I KNEW there was some catch to this. But ok, I'll behave."

Ty wished she demonstrated more enthusiasm like she did before, but he was going to have to accept her subdued answer. "Good." Making sure that she knew he was on her side, he reached down to give her a few strokes in between her ears. This lifted Pix's grumpy cloud away, if only in a small amount. But she did smile a bit when he smiled in encouragement. His smile was one that read, 'No hard feelings'.

A series of beeping signals would bring everyone's awareness back to the mission at hand.

Ty stopped petting his dog and took the reins of leadership again. "We're nearing the launch pad. Everyone strap in and let's go patrol this rock."

* * *

"How do ye feel now, General?"

Parvo took off the oxygen mask secured over his face, breathing much more steadily now. He gave out a cough before he croaked, "I'll be alright. Just a few hiccups. That's all."

The Groomer took the oxygen mask away from Parvo after he handed it to her, to say that he was done with it for the time being. This was one of two usual routines that the two of them would set up whenever Parvo was having one of his coughing fits-he'd hack up a storm and she'd give him a lozenge. Or he would need to take his usual bath in his own transmutation machine to keep his hybrid form balanced and healthy before needing oxygen to refresh his vital organs. Today he went through both procedures and with good reason. They were in the middle of a giant vacuum of space and dealing with a dangerous piece of equipment. They had to keep absolutely robust and in shape however they could.

"As ye say, sir."

He rubbed his crown in between his large feline ears before he took a deep breath, as if smelling something fragrant and sweet. "Much better. Now we can go back to business."

But the ship's alarms would halt any plans that the villain had.

The duo sprang into action and took off to the control panels. From their bridge, they could see a ship. It wasn't the ship they were expecting, however.

Parvo quickly placed his helmet back on. "It's the Space Rovers! Oh wonderful!...no matter; we'll just fight back and gain the attention of the Rovers instead, if they haven't heard by now. Send in the fighter ships, Groomer!"

"Yes, sir!"

Cats vs. dogs. Who would triumph?

* * *

 **A/N:** Shout-out time! The three teams in question are all teams made by cakelesspixels, OLU (One Lucky Unicorn), and by yours truly. The RR-verse, much like the BLoSC-verse, has a lot of room for growth and it shall be so for here in my verses!

'Chto?' is 'What?' in Russian.

The Rovers' ship is named after the Millennium Falcon from _Star Wars_. I had to.

There are actually more behind-the-scenes deals, but rather than cover all of it here, you can go to my blogger (just type in Fox's Fantastical Den and blogspot and you'll find my blog in no time.), where I yammer on about my stories and anything else I want to talk about. Enjoy that, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a comment with anything constructive and have happy days!


	4. Chapter 4

Team Parsec finally made it to Rhizome's landing pad. The launch pad itself was a giant mushroom pad large enough to hold up to three star cruisers. The plant was one of many examples of Rhizomian's vegetation and vegetarian culture. The planet was home to the giraffe-like creatures known as the Rhizomians, who were known for their peace-loving ways and abilities to commune with nature. The Rhizomians were, quite recently, growing in popularity in terms of their technology. Today, the Rangers were to meet with the representative of vega-genetic technology, Professor Wyndham Triffid. The professor sported a bright outfit composed of greens and yellows. Sitting on top of his large snout was a pair of small glasses. His bluish and relaxed eyeballs were studious, casually observing the team as they walked down the pad.

"Welcome to Rhizome, Ranger Parsec."

Ty smiled as he shook the well-read and laid-back professor's three-fingered hand. "Thank you, sir. We're glad we could make the trip." While everyone in his team, including himself, had no real opinions on the technology itself, Ty was quite open to learn more about it and what improvements have been made since it was put to good use and approved by Star Command itself.

Simone shook Triffid's hand, equally as warm. "Indeed we are."

Triffied nodded, smiling calmly. "Likewise. It's not every day we have Rangers come by to see our progress in vega-genetic technology." He turned to Pix. "Ah, you must be Pix."

Although her acidic attitude was far from cured, Pix had retained enough politeness to greet him amiably. She came over to greet him. "I am, sir."

"I've heard quite a bit about you. It's nice to meet another new member of the Space Ranger Corps. May I pet her, Ranger Parsec?"

"Sure." Ty would then firmly command his partner, "Pix, sit."

Like any highly trained canine, she obeyed and sat on her haunches.

"Oh, what a good dog. A good, GOOD dog." The professor petted her in between the ears.

Pix lifted her head up, smiling and panting in relief. That felt so nice on her moody brain. So nice!

Triffid gave a few more pats to Pix before settling down to talk business. "Now then, shall I show you what we have to offer?"

"Of course, sir. Lead the way." Ty would then wave a hand to the girls to follow after them further into the planet where Triffid would be escorting them. If Ty were able to pay attention to Pix, he might have seen that she was perking up already.

* * *

Meanwhile, a battle elsewhere in outer space was picking up in pace.

"This guy don't like to give up without a fight, do he, Captain?"

Persia scowled. "No, but neither do we! Keep on firin' the lasers!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Taking the lead, Tina was at the front of the action, leading the Space Rovers into battle with their own weapons ablaze.

The two sets of opponents had been at it for nearly an eternity, nearly biding their time until the Road Rovers arrived into the arena to take out Parvo. But one was awaiting help, the other was awaiting bait. Would the Road Rovers be able to avoid danger while helping their high-flying comrades?

* * *

"Groomer, how many ships have we lost?!"

"...All but three, sir."

"Oh, perfect." Parvo threw a fist into a wall to excuse his frustrations.

"Sir, we'd better leave now or we won't have any ships left to-!" She immediately silenced herself when Parvo shoved his face in front of hers. She backed up a step to avoid falling over.

"NO! No, we stay and FIGHT until those Road Rovers show up! Besides, we've come SO close; we're NOT going to give up now... _are_ we, Groomer?" His vicious fang-filled smile reminded her of a deviously grinning and hungry lion.

Fighting the urge to gulp, she swallowed her fear and managed to respond. "Uh, no. No, sir! We won't give up yet!"

Pleased that he got Groomer to see things his way, he backed off and nodded. "Good. Now, fire the lasers. We've got a better chance of shooting their ship down than we do with our ships. On the double!"

After breathing an inward sigh of relief, Groomer wiped her forehead free of any fear and got to work. She went over to the control panel. "Yes, sir. Firing lasers NOW!"

* * *

The _RR Millennium_ navigated through the quiet reaches of black space, leaving behind the comforts of Earth and taking only its passengers into flight. They left Earth behind in favor of giving aid to the Space Rovers and to drive Parvo back into stewing again until he came up with another hare-brained plot to rule the world, launch another army of cano-mutants, or a combination of the two.

The Alpha Rovers, at the bridge of the large and similarly shaped ship as the Space Rovers' spacecraft, all worked in their spaces. Hunter was in the center chair of it, overseeing Exile and Colleen at the main controls. Blitz and Shag worked at the back consoles, acting as backup in their own stations. Their controls worked like charms; the Master and Hubert's newest additions to the ship were approved by all the Rovers, but there was no time to indulge in the coolest gadgets now. All doggy brains were within the present moment as they controlled the ship. Well... almost all of them.

"IwondayCollengottsitondacouch."

Hunter dismissively replied to the sheepdog's mumbled response, "Shag, you know she got to sit on the couch because she earned it. With what happened on our next mission, she had her work cut out for her. She was due for a long nap."

Colleen smiled over her shoulder in her seat. "That's right, Shag. You'll get your chance soon. But let's just concentrate on helpin' our friends take down Parvo and bring 'em home."

Shag was comforted by that thought, although not without one more mumbling gripe. Luckily, Blitz was able to get his mind back onto his work by issuing a subtle smack to the sheepdog's arm and a 'get back to work, mop boy!'

With that minor, and random, detail out of the way, Hunter ordered, "Alright, we'd better prepare for light speed. We'll get there faster. Prepare to jet, Rovers!"

* * *

"Oh blast it! Parvo's hit our ship!"

"Damage report, Tina, now!"

"He's hit our right flank and our engines. We're gonna lose power if we don't do something now!"

And someone did indeed do something. But it was not the group that took action.

A flashing beep would catch Gawain's eye. "Captain, we have a large object approaching."

"Hang on-I'm getting a visual. Is it...yes, it is! It's the Road Rovers!" The crew cheered as the _RR Millennium_ was rapidly speeding through their line of sights from the depths of space. The RR Millennium was coming in with guns blazing and lasers firing against Parvo's ship.

* * *

"Sir, look!"

"I see them, Groomer! No need to repeat that detail back to me." He hacked and coughed in the midst of all the excitement before he managed to regain control. "Let's get those mutts!"

* * *

Persia wasted no time in getting through to Hunter. "Hunter, can you hear me? We're sure glad to see you and the Alpha Rovers!"

Over the intercom, Hunter responded nonchalantly, _"No sweat, Persia. Leave Parvo to us; you Space Rovers get back to RRMC ASAP!"_

Persia nodded even though Hunter couldn't see it. "Right then." Business first. She ended the call and commanded, "You heard him, Rovers. Let's turn tail and return home for repairs before we're toast." With no hesitation, the crew fired up whatever powers were left in the engines and blasted off towards their home planet.

* * *

With the Space Rovers safe and heading for cover, the team was now able to focus their efforts on bringing down Parvo and Groomer and recovering the portal before it could be used for its primary function. Hunter ordered, "Alright everybody, disengage the Rover saucer; we've got to take them out fast and hard and then capture the portal. We'll have to try and play a game of capture the flag with these guys."

"Oh, you mean a game of stealing sticks?"

"Uh...no. Capture the flag. We can't play 'catch' with sticks now."

Colleen rolled her eyes at Hunter's obliviousness, but spared herself from making a snippy comment. Blitz and Exile sent bewildered glances at each other across the room.

After scratching his ear in confusion at Colleen's attempt to correct him, Hunter returned his attention to the battle. "Exile, care to do the honors?"

"It will be great honor, comrade!"

And through Exile's expertise with technology, the ship now split into two. The dog shaped portion of the ship released the main saucer from its mouth; now the Rovers were free to zoom and dart around Parvo's firepower with little to no problem.

The two ships, like a typical dog fight, dashed around the quiet darkness of space like twin comets threatening to crash into each other. The Rovers had the upper hand; their compact part of the ship was able to maneuver through their opponent's blasts speedily-one diving movement after another and that would give them the advantage to shoot down any of Parvo's mini ships. But they were keeping their distance away from the deadly duo. To which Groomer noticed despite all of the commotion.

Parvo, having seen her thoughtful look, brusquely snapped her out of her thoughts. "What?! What's the matter?!"

"Sir, I just noticed the Rovers aren't trying to shoot us down a lot. They're just trying to capture the portal."

This, undoubtably, took Parvo off his guard. "Really?..." As if to test out his partner's observation, he watched the Rovers dodge and shoot down his ships and lasers, all the while observing how they seemed to get closer and closer to the portal, but not too close considering he and Groomer were the guardians of said vortex. "Well, I'll be! Shepherd must have figured out what we're up to and ordered them to try to collect the portal from us." A malicious smile crept on the villain's face. "Perfect! This gives me an idea then. Groomer!"

She saluted him with a free hand while maintaing her control over the modules and weaponry. "Sir?"

"Is the portal ready to be used?"

A quick calculation on the computer later... "Hmm... it'll be missing a few parts to keep it in place, but it will still function. Why?"

The vicious smile turned into a flashing set of fangs. "Oh, you'll see. Just let me take care of the portal from now on. I think I've found a way to lure the Rovers in."


	5. Chapter 5

And they found a way to lure them in.

The sights of the mellow yellows and neat greens of the Rhizomian landscape relaxed the eyes of the Rangers as the professor led them through the open earthy paths. They passed by decorative plant-like infrastructures, all of them as alive and colorful as the residents living inside of them. They passed by streaming blue bodies of water, which was a main benefactor and backbone for the Rhizomians' easygoing and natural lifestyle. For such a busy civilization, they were also very peaceful and cheerful as a small town community: no yells, no noise, no associations of the typical city life came to mind when one traveled through Rhizomian patches.

After hitching a ride on one of the cable cars that would take them through the urban jungle, they flew and passed by the electri-plant, the electric generator for the city. According to what the Rangers were told, without the large, strange and powerful curled-shaped plant, there would be no way to generate enough sunlight and power for the planet. No power, no way to live. But that was not what Triffid wanted to directly show them, as interesting as it was to learn more on the generating device.

Once they arrived to their destination, they hopped off the cable car, with Triffid leading the way. "As you can see, we are still developing technologies that will be critical to the Galactic Alliance once they are ready to be shown." They were now walking through the outskirts of town. This part of town was vacant: only a small grassland and towering dark green beanstalk plants stood watch.

Pix started to lose her grouchiness and lose herself in the new sights she was seeing, which eased Ty's concern as a pet owner. But for how long could she be kept calm and collected until her impatient doggy issues cropped up again?

"What are you going to show us, professor?"

But Triffid's smile never wavered. "You'll see, Ranger Parsec. Just follow me right this way." He led them further down the grassland, looking completely at ease. But Pix wasn't feeling too sure. Unlike her teammates and Triffid, Pix's nose twitched and wiggled as funny scents tickled her nose. The smells were odd and fuzzy. So fuzzy that Pix felt a strong urge to...to...

"AH-CHOO!"

Everyone looked to the dog as she suddenly went through a sneezing fit, sneezing not once, not twice, not even thrice, but five times! Luckily, she managed to stop once they reached the other side of the grassland. By the time they did, Pix was feeling miserable and stuffed up. "Ugh..."

"Are you alright Pix?"

"Oh yeah, I feel COMPLETELY great." Pix groaned a silly groan, as if to suggest Simone's question of concern was a stupid one. But once she saw Ty and Simone giving her stern glares, she backed off and explained, "There's somethin' in the air makin' my nose act funny. Some kinda scent from the giant plants we've passed by."

"I see you've picked up on the power of the Beatrice Bean Trees, my canine companion."

The trio of Rangers, having letting go of their little spat, turned to Triffid in confusion. "The what?"

"The Beatrice Bean Trees." With a hand motioning to the trees, he lectured, "They are part of the latest technological breakthrough. The pollen scent is connected to the pods stored inside them. It is a way to disguise their true nature, if you will pardon my joke."

Ty asked, "Why? What do they do?"

"According to our research, the pods are known to be poisonous." Triffid kept relaxed as the Rangers exchanged dreading grimaces. He held up his hands in defense as he assured, "Oh, it's quite alright, I assure you! They're only poisonous if you eat them. You see, we're learning how to extract their important components to make antidotes for any disease in our modern day and age."

Hearing her interest in medicine brought up, Simone perked up. "Really?"

"Oh yes! In fact, we are so close to finding a cure for one of the most common sicknesses of our time."

"What's that?"

"The cure for the common cold."

Pix, still feeling plugged, sniffed and snidely remarked, "Lovely. I feel like I could use it at this rate."

With an air of composure, Simone recommended, "Pix, I think I could give you something when we're done here, but there's also another medicine I could advise in the meantime."

"Yeah? What is it?"

Simone fixed her fellow Ranger with a warning eye. "Self-restraint."

As only as a dog could, Pix pulled her lips up into a comedic sneer. Ty hid a threatening smirk underneath his hand while Triffid patiently stood by and took Pix's complaints in stride. He would diffuse her irritation by showing the team more of the latest updates in Rhizomian technology. He then took the team away from the grasslands, much to the relief of Pix.

* * *

Much to the confusion of the Rovers, Parvo's ships returned home and all emitted quiet again. What just happened?

A blip on his own screen would alert Exile, "Hunter, we are receiving incoming message."

"Put it on the viewscreen."

One second later, all the Rovers tensed as the wide viewscreen eclipsed their window brought forth their most formidable enemy.

Hunter growled, "Parvo."

Parvo steepled his fingers as he addressed the team. "Rovers. You're all probably wondering why I've recalled my ships. Well, the answer is simple. I know you found out about my plot to toss you into the wormhole. You just want to bring back the portal to your employer. But as you can see I'm keeping you from obtaining it."

"Get to the point, Parvo. What are you saying?"

Parvo ignored Hunter's rude interruption and proceeded on like nothing happened. "I've simply decided that because I'm in a generous mood, I should warn you that I haven't completed construction on it yet. The portal hasn't been activated. So even if you could get past me and bring it back to Earth, it could also be subjected to wear and tear on the voyage home." The skeptical scowls on all of the Rovers' faces failed to faze Parvo as he continued on. "Of course, you're more than welcome to take a look for yourselves." The general would rotate the view screen and present the Rovers with a view of the glowing gateway itself. It floated idly by the general's spacecraft: unused, unfinished and seemingly stationary.

Everyone exchanged confusion with one another. Why exactly was he telling them this apparent truth? He was up to something, that much everyone knew.

As if hearing their thoughts, Parvo returned onto the screen. "Now that I've shown you the wormhole, you can decide if you want to continue on with your task. Since you've foiled my plans, the only thing I plan to do is retreat and move on. If you don't believe me, that's your business. But consider this: if you leave it here, it could malfunction and turn on by accident, or supposedly create some sort of implosion on itself and cause many of the asteroids to be sent hurtling towards Earth. Either way, you'll have the upper hand. So have at it, mongrels."

A flick of white and the screen turned black, ending the call. And just as Parvo promised, he drifted his ship away from the portal and disappeared into the empty blackness.

Minutes passed, and silence reigned supreme both in and out of the _RR Millennium_ as everyone took in the strangely benevolent offer that was beset upon them. Parvo wasn't usually known for making offers and keeping true to them. And experience taught the Rovers that lesson time after time again, especially after a past incident involving a little dog named Sport and his owner being held hostage by the madman himself. So what in the name of Sirius was _that_ all about?

Shag broke the tension. "WhadowedonowHunta?"

Without even a second thought, Hunter declared, "Well, we gotta bring it back like the Master said, right? So let's bring it back!"

Blitz was quick to burst, "But Hunter, Parvo and Groomer could be setting a trap! Are you sure you want to take that chance?"

Hunter waved it off. "Don't sweat it, Blitz. We won't actually get close to the portal. I betcha a doggy biscuit that they set up a trap inside that thing. So we'll use our cables to latch onto it and reel it in from a safe distance. Then we'll be able to move and avoid any traps, no problem. We'll keep our eyes peeled at all times for them." Hunter was well aware of the possibility, but they _did_ retreat. Besides, there was no way the portal could function if it was simply being dragged, right?

"But-!"

Colleen shot down any further concerns from Blitz with a loyal, "Then let's get crackin'! Parvo's nowhere near in sight and we're the only ship around. The wormhole's ours for the takin', Huntie!"

"Then let's bring 'em home, Rovers!"

Although Blitz was muttering under his breath about ignorance and bliss, he grudgingly obeyed his leader's orders. Shag patted Blitz on the shoulder to console him, to which the latter did thank him for. At least someone _else_ saw the problems with Hunter's plan.

The ship gradually coasted towards the portal. Although it was deemed safe to pick it up, one could never be too sure about the hidden dangers that lurked behind every space rock, nook and cranny. For one long moment, only the sounds of the engines could be heard.

All was tensely quiet within the ship and out. Every cano-sapien held their breath as they approached the swirling vortex.

Once the ship neared the gateway, Exile activated a pair of cables with grappling hooks. They sprang out from compartments underneath the ship and latched onto various points of the portal.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, even Hunter. "Alright, we've got the portal. Now let's head home." He was truly surprised but pleased that they managed to succeed in their mission. With no snags, even! But just as Hunter was starting to seep in the victory...

Wham! The ship suddenly shook and rumbled, nearly sending the team flying out of their seats.

Colleen exclaimed, "Cor blimey! What was that?!"

"Comrades, we have been hit!" Exile quickly typed up commands into the controls to identify the object that attacked the ship. " _Chto?!_ "

"Whatcha got, Exile?"

Exile turned to Hunter. "We have been hooked!"

"'Hooked'?"

" _Da!_ Two grappling hooks stuck in our side like bird claws. They are attached to cables coming from Parvo's ship!"

In spite of the serious situation, Blitz was eager to crow, "See?! I told you so! Parvo tricked us, _ja_ he did!"

Although Colleen would normally try to pick on Blitz whether he was in the right or wrong, she wouldn't waste her breath in dire circumstances such as this one. "Hunter, we'd better do the split!"

He may have been confused by Colleen's slang again, but Hunter was quick to figure she was suggesting for them to leave NOW. "Yeah, what she said! Full power, Rovers and let's jet outta here!"

The ship tugged and pulled trying to escape Parvo's clutches, but to no avail.

* * *

"Excellent work, Groomer! I knew those mutts would fall for it." He laughed with glee before launching into a coughing fit. After taking a deep breath to steady his breathing, he ordered Groomer, "Let's take them for a little ride."

Groomer voiced her concern, "But they still have the portal, sir! How will we make them let go?"

"Fear not, dear. I have a little trick up my sleeve." He reached over to press a yellow button on the control console. "Now watch."

* * *

"We've got two unidentified objects comin' our way!"

"UFOs?"

Colleen rolled her eyes at Shag's response. "No! They're discs. Small floaty discs comin' our way. They're gettin' closer. Now they're...oh no, they're cuttin' our cables! They're using saws!"

The crew watched helpless as the small blue discs rapidly cut them loose from their object. As soon as the saws succeeded with their task, they retreated back to their master's ship. "Saws? Out in the middle of space?" Although shocked that there was such an idea, Hunter tried to make a joke out of it. "Now _that'd_ make an interesting sci-fi movie."

"Hopefully without us in it." The grouchy Blitz was flabbergasted at Hunter's bad timing at joking. He wasn't the least bit concerned over the fact that the portal was now free from their grasp and they were in Parvo's now?...was he _crazy_?!

Hunter glared at the Doberman as he hastily assured, "We will _live_ to see it. Full power and prepare for ramming speed! We gotta try to capture that portal again!"

But even as they tried to break free from the madman's cables...

"Tooate!" After Hunter questioned Shag, he explained, "Parvo'sgotustrappedandtheportal'sfloatinaway!"

Exile would add another wave of bad news to the pile. "Even worse, comrades. I have found out where the cables hit. Parvo's hooks struck our engines. We are losing power!"

Colleen groaned in dismay. "Oh _splendid_. Parvo's got us trapped in his claws and we're sittin' ducks. Now what's the plan?"

Not able to conjure up a plan, Hunter asked, "Anybody got any suggestions?"

Blitz had one. " _Ja_. We curse Parvo and Groomer in anger."

"Sounds good. Any objections?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Okay then, sounds like a plan." And Hunter led the team into shouting angrily at the duo.

* * *

Groomer reported, "The _RR Millennium_ is completely locked in our grip, sir. Should we fire upon them?"

Parvo shook his head. "No, Groomer. That'd be too easy. All that trouble and hard work going into the portal would have been for naught. We're going to throw them in just as we have planned. So...are you ready to take out the trash?"

Groomer shared her employer's nasty gleam. "Aye, sir!"

"Then activate the portal and let's toss them out!"

The spacecraft began to fling its cables backwards, taking the _RR Millennium_ with it. Under Groomer's hands, the gateway stopped moving, held itself in place and whirred to life, its swirling colors glimmering brighter than ever. The cables attached to the _RR Millennium_ would act as a makeshift slingshot, with the cables as the sling and the Rovers' ship as the doomed projectile. Its destination?

Beyond the gateway's borders.

* * *

A/N: Another chapter completed. Enjoy and have happy days! Here are some translations.

 _Da_ : Yes, in Russian.

 _Ja_ : Yes, in German.


	6. Chapter 6

Upon reaching the site, Triffid motioned a sweeping hand towards the work group before he and the Rangers. "Well, my friends, here we are. Welcome to our research facility."

The 'research facility' was relatively simple; Rhizomians hunched over workbenches and equipment carried over to and fro and used frequently. All of this took place in a quiet and low cut field of grass with trees of many families standing watch over them, rather than inside a building as was generally expected of Team Parsec. Not that it was a total surprise to them; Rhizomians were so in tune with nature, that for some time there was a joke going around about how Rhizomians were not what they seemed and were actually plants in disguise, and it was the main reason why they loved being outside to thrive on sunlight and water. This was all in harmless fun, however, as the Rhizomians were also known to be good-natured and easygoing. They were also vegetarians, as evidenced by the dishes of fruit and salads that some of the researchers had on their workbenches to munch on when they needed a break from working. The air was fresh and sweet, the tender perfume of flowers and mint decorating the breeze.

Which was a very refreshing remedy for Pix's sneezy nose. She sat on her haunches and wagged her tail as the nice scents entered her nose and out to clear out the _other_ scent.

Simone brought a finger to her chin and rested one arm on the other as she took in the operational scene, keenly observing all of the Rhizomians at work. "If I may ask, professor, what exactly are they doing?"

Just as Triffid was about to reply, a carefree voice cut in and answered for him instead. "They are achieving the impossible, of course; finding a cure for the common cold!" A childish giggle followed after that.

Thrown off by the voice in the woods, Team Parsec tensed up and prepared to fight if necessary. Ty and Simone stood back to back with hands hovering over wrist lasers while Pix crouched down to all fours with teeth and claws out.

This cause the Rhizomian team to look up and pause in their line of work. No one seemed particularly jolted. Instead, they all seemed either confused or annoyed.

Triffid sighed and shook his head. Rangers could be too tense and wary for their own good sometimes. It was necessary to stay alert for signs of danger or trouble, but this was certainly _unnecessary_. The mysterious owner of the cheerful voice was not helping things along either. He held up a hand, prompting the Rangers to look at him. "It's alright, Rangers. That's only Elana Dendrite."

Ty blinked, unfamiliar with the name. "Who?"

In an almost parental tone, Triffid sighed again and called out to the voice. "Elana, please come out here and introduce yourself."

As if appearing out of thin air, the owner stepped out from nature's backdrop and into the sunlight.

The team lowered their guard. It was a female Rhizomian, wearing a very nice and lightly lavender colored dress that flowed down to her knees. She also wore an open white jacket, and black shoes. A flow of dark green hair covered her back down to her hips, which complemented her aloe green skin. Her baby blue eyes glinted with a sense of joy and a hint of silliness. Her slender snout and pointed bat-like ears helped translate her carefree personality through her smile and perky attitude.

She took a playful bow before introducing herself. "A pleasure to meet you, Team Parsec! I have heard quite a bit about you three." She giggled and beamed at them, delighted to meet them.

"...Uhh..." Ty and Simone exchanged bewildered glances.

Curious about Elana, Pix got up from her haunches and went over to her. Elana held out a three-fingered hand for her to sniff. She smelled and smelled before determining that this lady was nice. Strange, but nice. She let Elana pet her on the head, doing good for her moody brain as all traces of irritation prior to this meeting went away for the time being.

But there was something bothering Pix about this Rhizomian. So in a typical curious doggy fashion, once Elana was done petting her, Pix tilted her head. "How did you know who we are?"

"Oh, you might say I heard around the grapevine."

"The grapevine? What do ya mean?"

She chuckled before elaborating, "I meant that I heard about you three through another Rhizomian. News travels fast here, especially when one is working on the latest technology. I'm sorry for intruding on you like that, Rangers, but I wanted to be sure that you were on your toes. You never know what troubles you could run into in your travels no matter where you might go."

"You wanted to test us? What for? We're trained enough to take on anything that can come our way."

One of the Rhizomians, a male, called out to Pix. "Don't let her lead you up the garden path," he advised, "She joshes like that with everyone she feels like joshing with. If I were you three, I'd just ignore her and do my job. It'll save you some trouble." The rest of the staff either nodded in agreement or did nothing to dissuade the claim. With that, the Rhizomian staff returned to their work now that the mystery voice's identity was revealed.

The quiet moment afterwards was hanging on by an awkward thread. Elana was still standing there and smiling like she had not heard what the other Rhizomian just said. Triffid's ears wilted as he rubbed his temple with a hand, trying to gather his patience. As trained in the ways of patience he was, he still had his moments where it could be tested.

Although each Ranger had various thoughts about what just transferred, they all had one common thought processing through their brains: Elana was apparently not the most respected Rhizomian citizen out here. But whatever for? Rhizomians were normally friendly and lax to outsiders, and to each other. But here, the crew did not seem to appreciate her arrival. And Triffid was having a trying time with her as well. The team did not know how he exactly felt towards Elana, but it was clear he was more polite about his opinions than the others were with theirs.

The awkwardness being a little too much for her, and wanting to move on before any other embarrassing incidents could occur, Simone cleared her throat and pressed her palms together, as if to act as a diplomat between awkward tension and galactic interaction. "Well! I must say, that was quite an interesting entrance you made, Ms. Dendrite."

Elana giggled warmly again. "What can I say? I like to make a splash whenever I can. It keeps things interesting for my own job."

"Your job? What do you do?"

She pressed a hand to her chest. "Why, I'm a curator, and the top one actually, at the Museum of Ancient History on Capital Planet. Soon to have new exhibits to the public in one month. It'll be quite exciting!"

"The museum? Heh. Interesting." Ty crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't mind, I'm curious to know what kind of exhibits you'll be showcasing." A history buff he wasn't, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious about the museum. From what he remembered about it, the museum was fairly new on Capital Planet grounds. It opened up about a year or two ago, and the exhibits were always changing. A way to keep tourists and viewers coming back, he supposed.

But Elana, as playful as ever, wagged a finger. "Ah, ah, ah! You'll find out in one month, Ranger Parsec. Those exhibits will be kept secret. I'm not going to spoil them for anyone; can't take any chances for spoilsports to come in and ruin the surprises for everyone, y'know." She shrugged, still wearing the ridiculous smile on her face.

The man blinked. "Uh... okay then. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, ma'am."

"Ms. Dendrite, I don't wish to interrupt, but now I must show them the latest developments in our technology as I said I would. This conversation can be resumed after their task is completed." Triffid had his hands behind his back as he waited for Elana to take off, his patience back in place.

Elana raised one of her own brows, her smile fading a bit before shrugging. "It's a bad idea to cut down the tall poppies." She turned around to head back into the woods. She bid a quick wave and a goodbye to the Rangers before leaving.

Pix, unfamiliar with Rhizomian expressions, made a confused noise at the back of her throat. "Wha? What does that mean?"

Triffid explained, "It means criticizing others who stand out from the garden of life. I would not fret about it if I were you, Ranger Pix. Elana is a very... unique resident of Rhizome. She's remarkable as a curator, but she's not like other Rhizomians. She's considered to be very peculiar among our people for her quirks. As you may have just witnessed."

Ty watched Elana's retreating form as she evaporated into the green. "I see..." But in actuality, he couldn't see. What was it about her that the other Rhizomians didn't seem to like?...outside of making small talk and appearing out of nowhere? He thought about asking the professor, but something in his gut told him that it probably wasn't a smart idea. He couldn't get involved in this matter anyhow; it wasn't any of his business to know what Rhizomians thought of each other. Besides, he and his team had a task to do.

He inhaled deeply to focus back on the mission. And then he said, "Alright then. Simone, Pix." He turned to his girls, both of whom stood to attention. "We've got work to do, so let's do it. Professor, if we may..."

Relieved to be switching topics, Triffid's tranquil smile returned. "Yes. Let us go, my friends."

* * *

Unbeknownst to everyone, however, an eye in the sky was staring down with malicious intent.

That eye?

The Dreadnought. A deep and royal purple vessel floating in the patch of darkness above and relatively far away from the planet to avoid detection. If any of the young stars were sentient, they would have quivered and fled at the mere sight of the massive starship, for it was piloted and overseen by the most dangerous enemy of all the Galactic Alliance.

"Hmm... Rhizome. The peaceful planet of vegetarians... "

The figure, in his ornate chair, tapped his long and grey claws against an arm of his chair as he contemplated the planet down below. His tapping fingers were the only noise echoing throughout the whole ship. It was a sign; when he was thinking, no crony, be they measly a bug-like Grub or an encased and mechanical Brain Pod, would dare interrupt him unless it was important to do so.

But there was really no need for such, for their leader would speak again. "Yes... yes!" He stood up with gripped fists of power. He rubbed them together in malevolent anticipation. "With the Galactic Alliance investing so much interest in their technology as of late, I can do something useful with my time and investigate the latest developments. Surely there must be something useful down there for me to steal, even if I can't set up base there like I did last time." Normally he wouldn't have been so concerned about setting up base on Rhizome, as Rhizomian security was usually and incredibly casual.

But the last time he did so, he was defeated by his greatest arch-enemy: Star Command. Or rather, the Pride of Star Command. And ever since then, Rhizome has tightened its security everywhere, making it impossible for him to set one foot on its leafy terrain.

"And I'll just have to make sure that Buzz Lightyear is not present and/or on vacation there this time. Grubs!"

The aquamarine colored insects awaited his orders. "Yes, Evil Emperor Zurg!"

The emperor Zurg cast his order. "Send a spy drone down onto the planet! And while you're at it, get me Warp Darkmatter!"

* * *

"Pix, it's okay. The pods are contained within the machines. You don't have to anything to sneeze at, so it's safe to come over and watch."

But Pix fiercely shook her head. "Nuh-uh! No way, Simone. I'm perfectly fine where I am. I have a good view of everything from here."

"...Very well then." A resigned sigh was followed as Simone crossed her arms.

Not that Pix was going to care much about her friend's reaction. The reason why?

Sitting on her haunches, Pix kept a safe distance away from the work table that she and her friends were standing over to watch the Rhizomian in action. Triffid, Ty and Simone were the closest to the table observing one of the scientists tinkering and analyzing the bean tree pods. The pods themselves were held inside a mossy and portable machine that looked like a cross between a microscope and computer; viewers could observe the pods on a view screen while the scientist could type on a keyboard and activate certain switches in order to scrutinize and study the pod's characteristics, as well as slowly and safely extract the important ingredients needed for an antidote formula.

But even if Simone was trying to ease her of her wariness, Pix was not going to take any chances. She didn't trust those pods one bit, even if they were kept safely away from her.

Ty, noting Pix's determination to keep away from the table as possible, inhaled a deep breath before planting a fist onto his hip. He was not going to blame Pix for her attitude, and he was not going to force her to come over if she did not want to, but the fact of the matter was that the pods were stored inside something that could not possibly cause her to sneeze. There was nothing to worry about.

Triffid, seeming to sense Pix's unease, simply smiled in serenity and decided to help Pix out. "Captain Parsec, if you would like, I can take you and your team to another work table away from the pods. We are working on a cordial that is close to completion."

As if a life preserver had been flung out to her in a stormy sea, Pix leapt onto her feet and made a grab for it, the chance to get away from these cursed pods. "Yes, please, let's go check it out!" With her speed, she sped over to her friends and begged, "C'mon, let's go! Let's go!" Like an impatient child, she gently latched onto Ty's hand with her teeth, trying to drag him away from the site.

But because Ty was stronger than Pix in terms of physical strength, he didn't have a problem getting his hand back from her grasp. "Alright, alright! We're going. But go on ahead with Triffid; we'll catch up." No sooner did he say those words that she was bouncing up ahead like a top by the professor's side.

Ty and Simone followed after them to a table where another Rhizomian was working on something less technical and more fluid. That is, mixing up a batch of a strange emerald green liquid. The green liquid was soothing to the eye as it sparkled within the sunlight.

Simone's eyes widened in fascination. "What exactly is this cordial supposed to cure?"

While still keeping his eyes on his work, the scientist, the same male Rhizomian who called out to Pix earlier, peeked over his shoulder to look at Simone. "Well, it's actually not exactly ready for a test run just yet, but it's getting there. This cordial is supposed to help cure any disease, mainly the common cold. But the problem with it is that there are still some side effects to it we're working on eliminating. Things like nausea, stomach pain, headaches, allergic reactions, skin problems, hallucinations, turning into crystallized plants...

And possibly turning into a blueberry too, but that's just crazy talk."

The way he casually worded the problems at hand, one might have thought he was cheerfully talking about the weather.

The trio was silent at this find. How lovely to hear.

Simone was cringing. "Oh."

* * *

A bug was watching from afar in the bush. A yellow drone with the eye of a camera. Whatever it saw, it would relay back to its superiors.

One of its superiors was grinning a dastardly green-toothed grin in glee. "A liquid that can cure diseases? If I had that liquid, I could extract and dissect it to make viruses and spread them throughout the universe before forcing everyone to buy the cures! They'll have to submit to me then!"

"Not if Lightyear comes crashing in on the party. You'll have to keep this under tight wraps so that even he won't find out about it until it's too late."

Zurg retorted tartly to his number one agent, Warp Darkmatter. "A Negative Nancy today, aren't we?" Zurg crossed his arms, unimpressed at Warp's cynicism. He could usually take Warp's cynical remarks in stride, but this idea was so new and he hadn't tried it before in the three thousand plus times he tried to conquer the galaxy. Or at least he hadn't tried it in the way he wanted to try it now. "Any particular concern you might have with this idea?"

The blue-skinned Saphiran/human, donned in red, resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he explained, "No, but you and I both know that Parsec and his team are tight with Lightyear and his team, like I was back at Star Command. And we also know that if I go down there and try to steal anything I can, I'm gonna have to make sure that mutt doesn't smell me. She's got a real strong sense of smell from what we know about her." It was true; Warp was once a Space Ranger himself, but he was a turncoat in disguise. He was secretly working for Zurg ever since his days at the Space Ranger Academy, the starting point for all Rangers. It was also where he met Buzz and Ty. But he was in for the money and he received plenty of it as long as he spied for Zurg and committed other crimes for his employer.

But that didn't mean he could not have some disagreements with some of the evil plots Zurg could conjure up, such as now.

Zurg, however, dismissed the concern. "Oh pishposh. There's a way to avoid her and the other Rangers. You'll just have to smell like the environment is all you have to do. You're not afraid of that dog, are you?" He eyed the agent in scrutiny, as if looking for any traces of fear.

Warp snorted. "Hardly. I could take her on if I wanted to. But I'll stick to hiding in the flowers." His nose wrinkled as a disgusting thought passed through his head. "Just don't expect me to be smelling like roses... literally."

Zurg waved him away. "Fine, whatever! Just get down there and be the best at what you do. Grubs, ready Darkmatter for Rhizome!"

* * *

Meanwhile...on another side of another galaxy...

Everyone decided to call it quits after yelling a few choice words towards their antagonist even if he couldn't hear them.

"Okay, I've about run out of insults and angry shouts. Now that I got that out of my system, and I hope everyone else has too, we'd better think of something else fast. I don't think I want to be thrown into an alternate universe!"

Exile was about to point out to Hunter that the portal was not a gateway to a mirror universe since they didn't know anything about it, but thought better of it. Especially when Shag muttered, "YeahIdonwannahaveanevilgoatee."

Despite her annoyance at the never-ending science fiction references some of the other members were keen on bringing up, Colleen assured, "Shag, that's only in the movies. Besides, dogs don't get goatees."

"Maybetheydothere. Howdoyouknow?" The shaggy dog placed his fists onto his hips, challenging Colleen's views.

Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, Colleen rolled her eyes and refocused her attention on the objective. "Anyways, Huntie, I do have an idea, but it's a crazy one."

"How crazy are we talkin' here?"

"It involves latchin' onto Parvo's ship to keep him from escapin' and to save our skins. Even if we can't break free, we can at least make sure he can't get away with it."

Hunter's silence reflected everyone else's own hesitation about this plan. It was certainly a daring move, trying to latch onto Parvo's ship even with the limited resources they have. But whatever choice did they have at that exact moment? They had to do _something_!

And now, for the portal before them suddenly glowed an eerie neon blue.

Exile gasped. "Hunter! The portal! I think it turned on!"

That convinced Hunter to go for it. "Then it's settled; let's make a grab for Parvo's ship. But somebody get a hold of the Master. I have a feelin' we'll need backup. In the meantime, do whatever ya can to snatch onto Parvo's ship before we're flung like a frisbee!"

"On it, Huntie!"

Every Rover got to work. Only the tapping and clicking of keys could be heard over the tense silence.

* * *

"Ready, my dear?"

Groomer's nasty grin grew large. "Ready, General!"

"Then turn on the portal."

A flick of a few switches and the clicking of a button. The portal outside glowed an eerie and ethereal blue.

She saluted him. "Online and ready to use, sir."

"Excellent! Then prepare to aim..."

"Aiming, sir. Portal in sight."

"Ready..."

"Ready..."

"AND FIRE!"

And they jettisoned the Rovers' ship, releasing it into the unknown.

* * *

"Whoa!" The momentum from the launch nearly caused everyone to fly out of the ship. But they managed to hang onto their seats.

Just then, a familiar and concerned voice over the intercom spoke like an angel from the heavens. " _Road Rovers!_ _Road Rovers, can you hear me?!"_

It was the Master! Everyone shouted, all happy to hear him. "Master!"

 _"Road Rovers, hang in there! I am aware of what's going on! I'll be sending help on the w-"_

The glimmer of hope was cut short as the intercom suddenly burst, its life expectancy grown short. And they all realized the worst has happened. They were being flung rapidly towards the looming portal!

Hunter hurriedly commanded, "Latch the cables onto Parvo's ship now!"

In one swift moment, in one and only chance to obtain the impossible, somebody fired. No one that day would remember who, but whoever their savior was, they fired. And with precise accuracy, they hit their target.

* * *

"Well, Groomer. It looks like our work here is done. Now what do you say we grab some champagne and-" The ship suddenly lurched forward like a car, causing the duo to fall to the floor.

"What the-?! What's going on?!" Parvo looked up from his position on the floor to look outside. Horror raised itself on his features.

The ship was flying at a rapid pace towards the portal itself.

Groomer was also watching with dread. "How in-?!" What was going on?! What happened?!...

Oh no, those mutts snatched onto their ship to try and escape! Groomer tried to get up and get over to the controls, but she only succeed in falling down again.

The gravity increased as the ship's stern lifted in the air and nearly sending the two through the dashboard and windows and to an oxygen less environment. But the two of them clung onto each other and grabbed the control panels like buoys, saving them from such a fate. But that would not save them from their bigger problem.

With this dawning realization, both of them screamed, as did their Rover enemies.

* * *

But no one could hear either party scream within the reaches of space.

All but one.

Back down on Earth, the Master sensed only silence from his pets.

"...Rovers?"

That soft and child-like murmur betrayed his outer calm exterior.

* * *

 **A/N:** Beware the references! And Happy Holidays and have an awesome New Year! :)


	7. Chapter 7

Snap.

Pix paused abruptly. The fur on her back stood up and she held a most disturbed look as though she had seen a ghost. She whipped her head around to face the forest of flora, her wary eyes staring and large ears erect. Was danger present among Rhizome?

Ty and Simone were talking with Triffid about their impressions and what they have just witnessed in Rhizomian progress, so they weren't paying attention to Pix's change in attitude.

Earlier, she finally began to relax. Or at least become relaxed as a dog wary of machines filled with strange plant pods that made them sneeze _could_ be at ease anyhow. She was still on alert and didn't get too close to the table where the scientist was working, but she did gradually come to see that there was indeed nothing to sneeze at. Literally.

But this was after getting over the cringe-worthy part about the cordial's side effects. Even if she couldn't get the common cold, just hearing about those side effects that still needed to be conquered was no less dreadful to acknowledge for any creature.

Luckily, Simone, in all her knowledge of many things medical, was able to relieve her teammates of their dread, stating that as horrible as it may have seemed now, the Rhizomians could undoubtably eradicate those side effects with time, work and most importantly, the right resources. After all, a cordial that could possibly cure any disease known to organics would be a revolutionary miracle that everyone would want to have in their stock of medical supplies. It could save the trouble of performing surgery and eating things like pills to solve the problems. True, a cordial was also a fast method, but a cordial was a drink, and a drink was generally made up of herbs and natural remedies at that. It was safer than relying on pre-packaged and machine-made pills.

At least that was the view that the Rhizomians and Simone shared, due to their beliefs in using organically made materials for medicine and healing with patience as opposed to using quick fixes. But whatever the case, the team was definitely awed by this amazing miracle-to-be.

Once the team was done watching the scientist's work, they rotated and hovered from table to table to look at many more marvels before finishing up by sharing their thoughts with the professor and offering to send Star Command their earnest approval and satisfaction about their findings.

Or at least Ty and Simone took up the task. Pix decided to take a small snooze and lounge lazily near a tree to absorb the sun's warmth. So all was peaceful until Pix heard that-

Snap.

Pix furrowed her fuzzy brows. Something was in there.

She pointed her nose in the air, trying to smell and pinpoint the perpetrator. But that plan was quickly thrown to the side; there were too many scents of fresh flowers and earthy trees that she couldn't smell anything else. But she had to find out what it was; curiosity took hold of her brain and it refused to let go. She peered over her shoulder. She saw that Ty and Simone were still talking with Triffid, and that one of the scientists was coming over to talk to them now. It looked like they'd be busy for a few more minutes before the team would have to leave Rhizome.

As much as she didn't want to disobey Ty, she just HAD to know what was making that noise, the noise that only she seemed to hear that no one else could. Besides, she needed something to do while waiting for her friends to finish talking; she didn't want to be bored again. And it wasn't like she was going to make trouble. Besides, Ty didn't say she couldn't go about taking a look around Rhizome; she never visited the planet before so this would probably be a good time to check it out.

Snap.

There it was again. Her mind made up, she crawled away from the site and slithered into the green foliage.

* * *

He couldn't find any trace of the Alpha Rovers: their technological communications only spoke static and all connections made with his telepathic abilities grew cold. But he was able to know one thing through his telepathy. Both Parvo and his Rovers were out of reach from his sight, into wherever the portal took them.

Nearby, Hubert could see the Master staring blankly into nothing, his glowing white eyes devoid of any calm or resolve. In the time Hubert had come to work for him, he had come to witness only a few emotions that his employer would display: calmness, irritation, urgency, and relief. But this was the first time he ever saw the Master display this particularly strong emotion.

The Master felt afraid. It was far from an abnormal fear for him to feel, as fear was a very old and universal emotion, but when he was afraid, that was never a good sign.

Hubert tentatively asked, "...Master?...what is it?"

At first, the man didn't respond. He was still trapped in his spell. But after a minute, he broke out of his spell and closed his eyes. He brought back his focus to center by taking a minute to breathe deeply in. He breathed the numbing mind-killer out in a few breaths. The air was good and clear as it cleared out the fear that momentarily took hold of his mind. And the Master was back. He took up a determined glare with a plan in mind and turned to Hubert, the latter being secretly glad the Master was back to life. "Professor, listen carefully. I want you to get into contact with our allies and the other Rover teams. Tell them what's happened and get anyone who can help us find them. We've got to bring the Rovers back."

Hubert nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. Anything else?"

"No, that's all. Now go; I'll be doing the same thing."

The Master watched Hubert run off from the room before getting to work himself. "Now let's see if I can't get in touch with the professor at his School for the Gifted. Maybe he could help me out with his powers."

* * *

They fell. They screamed.

They held onto their lives.

They saw blurs of colors from every corner of the spectrum pass by their ships as they felt pulled through to the other side of the portal's power. They could only hang on, as the gateway's power proved too great for them to escape. What lay on the other side of the journey?

Only a few spectators could know, two of which watched the Road Rovers and Parvo enter the new universe.

Two spectators, made of golden light and white light, flying like mystical avians.

They disappeared, never having been noticed by the alarmed space travelers.

* * *

She was on edge, just as the environment around her seemed to be on edge.

Pix had traveled deep into the wild Rhizomian ecosystem. She wasn't too far away from her team, but she was not within their sights either. This part of Rhizome was both beautiful yet strange; whimsical tree-like structures resembled giant dandelions, with the stems striped in black and yellow while the top parts were made of fuzzy florets that were clumped together, all assorted in various bright colors. Their neighbors were breezy willow-like trees, all adorned with green and pink flowers and long vines sprouting from the branches. A few birds, butterflies and dragonflies fluttered among tulip-like flowers, but no other fauna could be seen. The sun shone down from high above and through the trees, indicating it was now the early afternoon. The tall long grass was almost like Karn's own grassy fields, but instead of grey rocks as Pix had known Karn to have, there were basketball sized mushrooms dotting the earth. The mushrooms appeared harmlessly enough with their yellow and light pink complexions, but Pix wasn't interested in checking them out.

Beyond the fantastical flora, there was something sinister out here. But what?

Pix prowled through the field, carefully taking her time in her search. She decided to try smelling the air again, but once more, she could only smell flowers. But whereas her sense of smell was failing her, her sense of hearing was coming to her aid. She picked up a stronger trace of that snapping noise she heard from before somewhere in the distance. It sounded like a twig or two being stepped on and broken apart into bits and pieces. Now more curious than ever to check it out, Pix continued rustling and crawling through the green grass like a snake in search of food.

She followed the direction of that irritating snapping noise down to another section of Rhizomian land, and as she grew closer to it, the louder it seemed to have grown. Now she could find out what it was before anybody suspected she was missing! She could find out and literally zip back to her team with her amazing dog speed, and they would be none the wiser.

She kept going, and as she reached what seemed to be borders of the landscape...suddenly she felt a rock crumble underneath her paws, and it fell downwards, taking her with it!

She yelped as she fell, yelping out of genuine fear.

Down she fell. Down.

She crashed downwards, crashing on her side. The fall was short and didn't end her life. Thank Sirius for that.

Recovering from her fall, she shook her head and managed to stand up on all fours before shaking her fur to wipe herself clean of any debris that might have attached themselves to her.

Once she was up again, she realized that she was in a new area, in a darker part of the Rhizomian foliage. The trees were more clumped together, their combined tops blocking out any attempts by the sun to cast its rays down on green landscape. A few speckles of golden light peeking through small patches of leaf and branch, but for the most part, the area was mostly hidden in a cooler and muted sense of light. There were fewer and fewer mushrooms and wildlife scurrying about these parts, and the only sound that could be heard was that-

Snap.

Pix's heart started to beat fast in excitement. Fast as drums. The whole area seemed to have gone quiet as she moved towards the source. She could now only hear her heart beating in her ears, threatening to burst out of her chest.

But she kept her focus on that snapping noise, determined to not let her pounding heart overwhelm her sense of hearing.

She honed her ears in on the source. Honing. Honing. She had to remember what her big brother taught her about listening to the wind and how it could carry sounds. And she did. She closed her eyes and opened her mind and ears to her environment.

She drowned out her heart.

She drowned out her environment's chatter.

Now there was all but one sound.

There! It was nearby her team and the Rhizomian scientists and it was the sound of-

"There you are!"

She yelped and nearly jumped out of her pants (well, if she was wearing any) about ten feet in the air before dashing her head around to find two familiar faces. Two familiar and disapproving human faces staring down at her.

Suddenly the area's dark creepiness seemed friendly and warm in comparison to the icy glares Ty and Simone were giving her.

"Don't scare me like that! Ya scared the livin' daylights outta me... hey how didja know where to find me?"

Ty dryly replied, "Your collar. Remember? Your tag has a tracking device in it." He didn't wait for her to reply before he scolded, "Now what were you doing out here?! You didn't tell us know where you were going! We thought something bad happened to you!"

Now Pix had done it. She got herself into trouble. Which possibly meant that they weren't going to go to Karn... but she had to stand up and defend herself. "I was lookin' for something!"

Ty raised a pointed brow. "That something wouldn't happen to be trouble, would it? Because you certainly did so."

Pix shook her head and barked out loud. "NO! I wasn't tryin' to make trouble; I heard somethin' walking out here! I had to check it out!"

Simone shrugged, the more calm one of the two humans. "It was probably just Ms. Dendrite out here. I'm sure she was just taking a walk."

"It wasn't!"

Ty counteracted, "Then what was it, Pix?"

"That's what I was tryin' to find out! I know it wasn't her because before you guys showed up, I heard heavy footsteps!"

Ty frowned confusedly, his doubts about Pix's claims slowly clearing up. "Heavy? How do you mean?"

But the answer never came. Something else took Pix's attention away. "Huh?!" She growled and without any warning, she ran off, ignoring the two humans calling out after her.

When she was gone from their sight, Ty and Simone took off after her.

"Oh craters, now what's the matter with her?!"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it might be serious this time, Captain. She's heading back to the worksite!"

* * *

"Alright then, kiddos. Let's make this nice and easy. I get the goods to bring back to Zurg and I won't have to introduce you to my friends here. Everybody got that?"

The Rhizomians all froze as a smirking Warp Darkmatter was pointing a large plasma cannon at them. Some of the Rhizomians had never experienced combat before, and were stuck in fear at the terrible sight of Warp armed with the large weapon he was hoisting over his shoulder and arm. Well, his organic one anyway. His robotic right arm, which he lost a few seasons ago in an explosion, was not fit to carry large weapons of destruction; not when it held a secret weapon all its own. That secret weapon?

Another cannon stored within in his mechanical claws.

The danger present among the peaceful people brought up worrisome questions. What happened to their security? Did Darkmatter shut it all down? If he did, how and where? And what became of Team Parsec? Did Warp incapacitate them? Should they call Team Lightyear to come to the rescue? How would they call for help?

Every question became a good flood of reasons for a majority of the Rhizomians to fear for their lives.

Well... not necessarily a majority of them.

Professor Triffid was alarmed, yes, but compared to everyone else, he was the calm during the storm. He was so unusually calm that the other Rhizomians took notice and, when Warp wasn't looking at them, _they_ would look at Triffid as though he just confessed he was a meat eater-a sin among the people!

Not caring about what was silently transpiring between the Rhizomians, Warp pointed his plasma cannon right at Triffid's heart. "Professor Triffid, I assume."

"You assume correctly. And I may assume you are Warp Darkmatter, agent of the Evil Emperor Zurg. If I may ask, how did you manage to surpass our security?"

Warp raised a brow at Triffid's eerie placidity. "Not that it's any of your business, but if you must know, the big Z had his Grubs hit me up with a cologne that made me smell like Rhizome. Makes getting past security easier when you smell like the flowers."

"So THAT'S what I was hearing! I knew it!"

Much to the joy and relief of the Rhizomians, and the annoyance of Warp, they all snapped their heads around to face Team Parsec, all three members armed with wrist lasers and fangs.

Pix smirked in triumph shortly as she proved herself right to her teammates. "See, I TOLD you guys I heard somethin' heavy out here! It was Warp's footsteps!"" Her teammates were ignoring her, keeping their eyes on Warp.

Ty's arm was up, ready to use his wrist laser to confront his former Academy pal if necessary. Simone, experienced in the martial arts of _tai chi_ and _hung gar,_ had one foot placed in front of the other and raised her hands up in defense. The last member of Team Parsec was crouched down, her head low as she growled deeply, tempted to pounce right on top the agent and chew his metallic arm to bits.

Warp pointed his hand cannon at the team while keeping the plasma cannon aimed at the professor. And in his trademark swagger, Warp greeted, "Welllll, isn't this a lovely reunion. It's nice to see you and your team again, Parsec."

Ty didn't buy the 'friendly' greeting. "Wish I could say the same for you, Darkmatter. Here for a little sightseeing or are you here running an errand for your boss?"

"A bit of both. I'm here to pick up a souvenir or two for Zurg. He can't make the time to pick it up himself, so I'm here to pick them up for him."

"You mean steal."

Warp shrugged. "Pick up, steal, semantics. It's all the same to me. Now if you don't mind, I've got a job to do, so why don't you act like rockets and _blast_ off before I make you?" He dropped the cheeky smirk.

Simone's glare hardened. "No. We won't. You'll be blasting off before we do."

"Is that a challenge?"

Pix growled, her fangs seemingly becoming larger. "You bet it is!"

"Well then...bring it on."

* * *

And they did.

Faster than Warp could see, Pix dashed forward and leapt onto him as she avoided his shots thanks to her cheetah speed. She snatched onto his organic arm and tugged at it, pulling him with all her strength. Her strength was enough to make him drop his plasma cannon, giving the Rhizomians a chance to flee. Some of the braver ones, like Triffid, gathered their courage and managed to carry some of the coveted scientific materials away from Darkmatter's grasp.

They weren't alone. Ty ordered Simone to aid the Rhizomians get to safety and help them protect their precious cargo while he would aid Pix in keeping Warp busy. She heeded her captain's orders, gathered up as many materials as she could, and carefully secured them in her arms. The materials? Field notes, a plant pod, and a beaker.

She waited as everyone else filed out and she, and Triffid, were the only ones left in the area. He held similar objects in his arms, including more plant pods and the portable computer/microscope. And the last item? The prized cordial itself. The liquid floated harmlessly in its beaker, its bright pink form swishing to and fro inside the glass beaker. Triffid kept the glass close to him, determined to protect it at all costs.

Together, he and Simone ran after the other Rhizomians.

While the Rhizomians and Simone took shelter away from the battle arena, Ty managed to tackle his former Academy friend from behind and apprehend him by pinning his arms behind him and then shoving him down into the ground. Pix let go of her grip on his arm and was now baring her teeth in front of his face, clearing a warning that if he moved, she'd bite his head off.

"So Darkmatter, had enough yet?"

"No way, Parsec. I'm just getting started." Darkmatter managed to pull his metallic arm free and jab his elbow into Ty's stomach. Hard.

The powerful, cold and sharp arm hit its mark and forced Ty to let go as he reeled in pain. And before Pix could make a move, Warp roughly grabbed her neck, picked her up and threw her off to the side. Taking his chances, he tried a punch to Ty's face. Ty fell backwards, seemingly knocked out. Now free from Ty's grasp, he managed to stand up, but Pix recovered quickly enough to leap onto Warp's metallic arm and start pulling on it, leaping and hopping around like a hungry frog to prevent him from taking action. Warp could feel his arm threatening to break apart from its sockets, groaning and creaking at the canine force.

Not wanting to lose his prosthetic limb to the jaws of this mutt, Warp growled and tried once again to grab Pix by the throat. But due to the credit of her species, she was agile and evaded his every attempt to try and throw her asides again. Not bad for such an apparently intelligent dog.  
So he decided to play dirty by kicking her in the side. And being a former paramilitary man, the strength of his kick was potent enough to startle Pix, sending her flying right into a tree. She yelped as she crashed into the tree and slid down it.

She was too dazed to notice Warp preparing to fire his hand cannon at her. "Say bye-bye, mutt."

"Oh no you don't!" Before Warp had time to react, a recovered Ty rushed forward and delivered his own tough punch to Warp's face. The power of his punch sent his former friend falling over backwards.

Ty shot a concerned look over at his dog to see how she was doing. Luckily, she was able to shake off her dizziness and get right back up and get back over to Ty's side. "You alright, Pix?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Let's just nail this loser!" Her eyes were on the agent on the ground, who was getting back onto his feet.

Ty decided that enough was enough and that it was time to take this guy down. "Pix, tackle and bring him down!"

Obeying Ty, she galloped before pouncing onto Warp's back, catching him off-guard. He fell facedown into the dirt once more, and this time, Pix was the one pinning his arms and legs. And as fast as he could, Ty held one hand down on the agent's neck, opened the compartment on his chest and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Give it up, Darkmatter. You're under arrest."

Warp scowled as Ty snapped the handcuffs onto his wrists. "Ah, craters."

* * *

The yellow drone relayed what was happening back to Zurg. And the emperor did not like what he was seeing. Warp losing a battle with that pathetic Parsec and mangy mutt. And the Rhizomians getting away with his cordial!

He impatiently shook his fists in rage. "D'oooooh! I can't believe this! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!"

Every one of his Grubs and Brain Pods froze in place as they watched Zurg yell and scream to the stars.

Action would soon take place. "That does it! GRUBS! RELEASE THE HORNETS! I'm taking matters into my own hands!...well, not personally, but you get the metaphor."

One of the Grubs took out a remote control and pushed a lone button. Its one purpose was well served. Acting like a homing beacon, it sent out a message beckoning Zurg's mighty robot army. Tall and thin, they sported golden and black colors for their paint jobs. Three straight lines stood out as the "eyes" on their heads, and their forearms, which doubled as cannons, were bulky and connected to the smaller in comparison upper arms. Their thighs were thin as horizontal lines on a map, and connected to their bulky calves and feet. True to their names, the Hornets would fly via jets built into their backs, spewing out light green rocket propellant.

The army matched to where their master stood and awaited orders. But just as a command was on the tip of his tongue...

Three shrill beeps interrupted him.

"What's that? What's going on?" He stood up, wondering what could be so important enough to make him halt his orders.

"My Evil Emperor, our sensors have picked up two ships out in the open!" One of the Grubs shouted.

"Ships? THEY'RE the fuss the sensors are detecting?" Zurg asked with sarcasm, rage and a hint of doubt.

"Y-yes, my evil emperor, but they're no ordinary ships! They're not registered in the Galactic Alliance or in your space!"

"Not...registered? You mean they're out-of-towners?"

"Yes, your Evilness."

Out-of-towners?...interesting. But alarming as well. "I hope that they are not like those twerpy Heed that nearly took over my job of conquering the galaxy! Where are they coming from?"

A few quick calculations, and the Grub had the answer. "According to our sensors...t-they..."

The fear in the Grub rose Zurg's own fear. "They what?!"

"They're coming in fast and they're going to crash into us!"

* * *

The Master sighed. Even with other heroes around the globe trying to help him in their search for the Alpha Rovers, even with Hubert's help, with all of the Rovers' help, there was no trace of them anywhere. Not on Earth, not in space...not even in the Milky Way.

Where did they go?

He rubbed a hand down his face, trying to keep himself from losing his head over the horrible turn of events things had taken. Hubert stood nearby in case his employer needed anything. But there was nothing the professor could do for him except hope and pray that the Rovers would come back safely.

"I'm...I'm sure we'll find them, sir. You trained them well to take on anything that evildoers might throw at them."

"I know. I know we will find them. I just can't believe that this happened. My pets...gone."

Hubert's brows creased in concern at how drained the Master sounded. So drained and worried.

He had every reason to be. He cared about all dogs, and other animals alike, from Boots (well, before he turned into Parvo), to Scout, to the Alpha Rovers, to...to... A sudden nerve-wracking thought slammed itself into his mind.

"Wait a minute... Professor."

Hubert almost jumped at the Master's urgency. "Yes, Master?"

"Have you seen Muzzle?"

Hubert shook his head. "No. I haven't seen him since this morning. Why do you ask?"

The Master's fears were confirmed. Oh no...not Scout too. "Because I think I know where he is. He's missing, Hubert, and I know now that I need to worry about six of the Rovers coming home."

* * *

 **A/N:** A few people might recognize familiar passages I wrote some time back on an old fanfic (Storm Front) that's now on hiatus (I'm actually considering deleting it). They're reused here because I don't like letting passages I wrote and like go to waste. So they're here. We also have cameos of other characters here, one of which would also have been relevant to my SF story even though he didn't physically show up.

The world is about to get bigger for both parties. Oh dear.

Enjoy and have happy days!


	8. Chapter 8

Finally, the voyage across the mysterious landscape blurring with colors and strange glowing phenomena ended. Their path through the portal appeared endless, with the way their ships moved at high velocities past odd formations of color and shape dancing all around their vessels. Yet the formations didn't seem to move either, remaining still as statues.

It was as if all meaning and understanding of space and time had been demolished to nothing more than a null conception, returned back to the void of thought and imagination.

But the perilous journey was far from over. They reached the seam, a ripple into a new sky populated by stars, asteroids and other astronomical inhabitants. The beautiful sight of stars and a familiar green planet might have relieved their senses of dread and fear, if not for one fact.

Their ships were hurtling towards a purple shadow above the planet.

Colleen was the first to identify its true form.  
Her eyes widened and she yelled, "Huntie, our ship is headin' right towards that ship!" All of the other Rovers looked on in great alarm.

The first one to snap into action, Hunter ordered, "Detach the cables now and move the ship out of the way from crashin'! I don't care where we land, just make sure we don't hit anything!"

"But Hunter, what about Parvo and Groomer-?"

"Not now, Exile, just do it! We'll deal with them later!"

The Rovers tried to steer their ship out of the way, but it was too late.

* * *

Likewise, the Groomer warned her employer, "Sir, look! The Rovers are going to crash into that ship!"

"Then we've got to break free or we'll suffer the same fate as them! Quickly, cut those cables!"

With a little help from Parvo in keeping her steady in balance on the unsteady ship, she punched in a few buttons to unleash the saws from before. However, before she could finalize the decision to cut the ship free from the Rovers' grip, she was interrupted by, what was at the time, a thankful sight.

"Groomer, stop! Look! The cables are being released, and so are we! New change in plans; take control of the ship and get us out of here now!"

No sooner did they take control of their spacecraft that they successfully maneuvered themselves out of the Rovers' sight and the unknown purple vessel.

Not without a price; in exchange for their desire to flee and live, they sacrificed any chances they had of flying correctly. They might have managed to maneuver out of harm's way, but their speed and agility were tossed to the side as they plunged towards the planet below.

But as they did, they took one moment to look back behind them in their windows to see the Rovers meet their demise.

* * *

"WHAT?! Well don't just stand there, you worthless and spineless worms! DO SOMETHING! Steer us out of the way, shoot it down, SOMETHING!"

It was a general rule of thumb within the Evil Emperor Zurg's workplace to learn and assign various meanings to his fluctuating chords. If he spoke calmly or softly (in the rarest occasions he did), one could be at ease... well, halfway at ease anyway. But if he was shouting at the top of his lungs like a volcano, he meant business and would not accept incompetency or dillydallying.

At their controls, the Grubs steered the ship out of the incoming ship's path. But even though they managed to dodge just in time...

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"

Silence.

Crash.

Although it was a normal sight to see things explode in the celestial design far off from galactic civilizations, such as stars dying and resurrecting themselves from their ashes to be reborn as new stars, space rocks crashing down onto earthy terrain and leaving large craters and nebulae assembling together in the name of creation, it was also a normal sight, at least in this portion of the universe, to see manmade spacecrafts engage in explosive events - be they because of intentional warfare or accidental clashing.

The sight of two ships colliding into each other was a captivating sight for all in space to see, if such an audience existed. Metal ripped into metal, groaning, screeching in pain as their bodies fell towards the green planet down below. Their passengers screamed with them as they clung onto whatever they could clutch onto, be they pieces of ship, other creatures or by their own wills and lives.

And they both fell towards the green plane below.

* * *

Professor Triffid and Simone ran as fast as they could with their valuable items. They could still hear the shots of laser fire and words of battle behind them, but at the pace they were moving, they were able to get away safely. They would only slow down once they retreated far and deep into the field of trees and bushes.

As they stood there panting and breathing sighs of relief, Simone managed to say, "Well, it looks like we made it. But I don't think we should take it easy after all that. I might have to go back and help my team. I hope you understand, sir."

"Of course, Ranger Caldera. Do what you must. If you don't mind, I'd like to check up on everyone and our supplies."

"Not at all. Go ahead, sir. I'll watch over everything if you want to go on."

"Thank you. Actually, I will be taking one thing - the cordial. That is our main priority. I'll be back momentarily." He placed the rest of the supplies down onto the ground before adjusting and clutching the glass beaker in his arm to a safer and more guarded position. He nodded at Simone and set off to rejoin his comrades.

Simone watched him depart. Then, as if right on cue, Simone's communicator beeped. She carefully set the equipment down and then opened up her communicator from her right sleeve. "Simone Caldera here."

It was Ty on her small screen. " _Simone, it's us. We've got Warp in our custody."_

"That's great! Do you two need any help?"

" _No, we're fine here, although Darkmatter's putting up a bit of a fight even if he's handcuffed. We'll need to move fast. How are things with you and Triffid?"_

"We're fine too. The equipment's intact, the cordial's safe, and the other Rhizomians made it out safely. He just left to go check up on everyone with the beaker in hand." She paused momentarily as an idea came to her mind. "You know, Ty, I think we should inform Star Command about what's happened. They'll want to know about this, especially where Darkmatter is concerned."

" _You read my mind, Sim. If Warp's around, then that means Zurg can't be too far behind. Isn't that right, Darkmatter?"_

Simone could hear a low murmur echoing through her communicator, undoubtably coming from an irritated and defeated Warp.

 _"I think you'll take that as a 'yes'."_

"I think I'll have to as well, Ty." She and Ty exchanged wry grins. Warp's penchant for muttering defiant and sarcastic remarks when he was caught in his own tangled web was always amusing to the two Rangers even if they were Warp's enemies. But it was especially hilarious in Ty's case, given his own former friendship with Warp. Both men were prone to delivering heavy and deadpan zingers, so somehow, when they were friends in their Academy days, they somehow engaged themselves into a contest to see who could provide the most memorable remarks. Ty just won this round.

" _Anyway,"_ Ty said as he grew serious again, " _You'd better make the call. We need to keep an eye on Darkmatter and take him in now or else he might escape."_

On the other end, Simone could hear Pix yell, " _Aw, c'mon, Ty! You know that I could catch him if he tries to turn tail and run. He ain't fast enough to escape me!"_ She growled at the Saphiran/human to make her point.

Simone withheld any spells of laughter as she knew the inevitable bickering between master and dog was at hand. She saw Ty sigh and roll his eyes as he attempted to reason with his spirited canine.

" _Yeah, I KNOW you're faster than him... on FOOT._ _Remember, Warp has more experience as a former Ranger than YOU do as a current Ranger, and he could easily fly away from you. Your jet pack would run out of energy faster than you would."_ Ty put a fist onto his hip, daring Pix to challenge the fact.

But to his disappointment, this didn't deter his plucky partner. She just grinned in a 'devil-may-care' way and stood straight and tall with confidence. _"That's fine with me! It gives me a chance to brush up on my hunting skills. I could practicing my pouncing skills if he took off!"_

 _"Hey, if you don't mind, can you stop talking about me like that, mutt? I'm **not** a chew toy." _

Pix's muzzle wrinkled into a mischievous sneer and was about to retort when Ty stopped her.

 _"Pix, no. Don't tease the bad guy. We've got work to do, so enough chitchat."_

Simone bit her lip to keep herself from bursting out into laughter as she watched Pix's ears wilt in disappointment and her grumbling in dog gibberish of some sort. Ty addressed Simone again.

 _"Simone? Care to call up Star Command?"_

This time, she let loose a few light chuckles. She cleared her throat and assured Ty, "Of course, sir. I'll get on it right aw-"

"RANGER! RANGER CALDERA!"

From that moment on, all three Rangers learned a new fact about Rhizomians. They could yell at their top of their lungs louder than Star Command's own klaxons. One of them was running as though the whole planet had been on fire and coming right at Simone.

It was Elana. Seeing Elana's urgent expression, Simone wasted no time in asking the Rhizomian, "Elana! What's wrong?"

Once Elana stopped a few feet in front of her, she panted as she bended over and leaned on her knees for support. She recovered quickly to speak coherently and slightly more calmly. "We've got trouble. I've spotted two vessels heading straight towards the planet, and they're big enough to destroy everything in their paths!" She pointed a finger skywards to indicate the-

A hand flew up to Simone's mouth at two mammoth-sized vessels plummeting rapidly right towards the planet. One she recognized as Zurg's Dreadnought, the other was a mystery. But both of them equally threatening.

 _"Simone, what is it?! What's wrong?!"_

Snapping out of her shock, Simone lifted her arm up to let Ty see the impending danger falling from the stars. She could hear him yell in horror, _"Sweet Mother of Venus... Sim!"_

She returned her arm to look at him again. "Yes?"

 _"Make sure the Rhizomians take cover and call up Star Command while you're at it. We'll catch up to you with Warp in tow!"_

"Understood. Over and out!" She slammed her communicator. "Well, Elana, let's go! We've got to get everyone to shelter!"

"No, you go! I need to stay here and protect the rest of the equipment. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I have friends who can help me with carrying the equipment. Just make sure everyone else is safe and sound and that cordial is in good hands. Go now!"

Sensing Elana wasn't going to give her any other options, and knowing that the equipment would be safe with at least one Rhizomian, Simone nodded and raced off to help the others, disappearing into the flora's shadows.

* * *

Ty hung up after Simone did, and ordered his canine, "Pix, get off the bad guy. He's had enough fun for one day." As soon as his dog hopped off, however reluctantly, he clenched a hand around Warp's handcuffed wrists. "Well, Darkmatter, let's go. We've got a bit of jogging to do."

Warp glared. "Why? What's the rush? Are you that desperate to win a medal for catching me?"

Ty glared back. " _No_. And for your information, your employer's ship, for whatever reason, is now falling down onto _this_ planet and will wipe out everything there is here!" The Ranger pointed upwards to indicated the fallen spacecraft. Once Warp noticed the Dreadnought, and reacted strongly with a gasp, Ty continued on. "And if you really care about Zurg's money, then you'll come with us towards the danger. But try to escape and I'll sic Pix on you." Ty narrowed his eyes to let Warp know he wasn't going to go easy on him.

Initially alarmed by the news about the Dreadnought, Warp scowled at Ty's threat and then scowled at the dog. Pix growled and, once again, bared her fangs up at him. He wasn't cowed easily by either of them, but since he was in their custody now, he couldn't do much else other than go with them. Pix's fangs and Ty's strong grip would see to that. But that didn't mean he wouldn't rack his brain to worm his way out of this mess. He grunted in annoyance and let Ty pull him. Pix was keeping close to Warp's heels, her jaws wide and ready to bite Warp's legs should he think about taking off.

Together they jogged towards what was sure to be the danger zone.

* * *

Meanwhile, Simone ran as fast as she could, past trees, bushes and other native flora, panting and frantically searching for the other Rhizomians. She tried to focus on the green path ahead of her instead of the red sky up above. She feared if she looked up, she would have frozen at the terrifying sight of the ships closing in on the planet like twin torpedoes.

As fast as she was running, questions raced in her mind with her.

What exactly happened to the Dreadnought? Did the other Rhizomians see the danger? What was the other ship that crashed into Zurg? Where would they crash? Was the other spacecraft friend or foe?

The faster these questions rewinded themselves in her mind, the faster she ran in her task to find and save the Rhizomians from the incoming danger.

Seconds flew by as the fields of trees and bushes and other flora soon gave way to a clean and clear field of dirt, with only a few weeds sprouting from the earth. But they were not alone.

The Rhizomians were here. The first to spot the Ranger was Triffid, free from carrying the heavy equipment (minus the cordial which he kept under his guarding eye and in his arms) and turning away from his conversation with another Rhizomian to face her. He smiled, happy to see the woman again. He walked over to greet her, but before her name was on the tip of his tongue...

"Professor, you and the other Rhizomians need to clear the area now! Zurg's Dreadnought and an unidentified spacecraft are going to crash here!"

Everyone murmured in shock. As everyone looked around in confusion and fear, Triffid blinked and gulped, trying to swallow his desire to yell. Mustering every bit of calmness from his cells, he asked in a shaky tone, "Are...are you sure?"

Simone suddenly looked up. "Look!" She threw a finger upwards to point at the familiar purple mechanical monster screeching and falling. Falling with wide and jagged jaws of steel towards its prey, and accelerating at an alarming rate. Its smoking and melting metal sides sent a wave of panic over the earth lovers, each of them now realizing the potent terrors that could be unleashed when that hulking piece of space technology lands. Although Simone didn't know where the other spacecraft was in the sky, she couldn't worry about _that_ now.

Noticing each of the plant lovers too stunned to move, Simone yelled, "What are you waiting for?! GO! **RUN**!" She quickly grabbed hold of the shoulder of a dumbfounded Triffid and shook it fiercely to snap him out of his transfixed state. That was enough for him to wake up and he took the lead.

"You heard her, my friends! Grab what you can and run as fast as you can go! Go to our headquarters for shelter!"

The Rhizomians grabbed whatever they could carry in their arms and began to flee away from the scene in a new direction, towards the thicker part of the flora.

Simone rushed after Triffid, who was one of the last Rhizomians to leave the area when a scream coupled with the shattering of glass caused her to stop in her tracks and pivot on her heel. She whipped around and her heart froze.

One of the younger Rhizomian scientists accidentally tripped over a loose rock and dropped three glass beakers. The fragile beakers broke into countless pieces, all of them losing their liquids and cutting and opening dirt and grass and blood wounds. One of the pieces cut into the Rhizomian's knee, and the pain it was inflicting on the poor creature was, although small, no less aggravating and horrible to bear.

Simone's medical instincts kicked in and she rushed back to help. Behind her, Triffid yelled, "Ranger-!"

Over her shoulder she yelled at Triffid, "I'll get him out of here!" Once she reached the injured Rhizomian, she quickly looked over the wound. She bit her lip at the sight of it; it was not grave, but the red and bleeding mark cut across his knee and undoubtably causing him to grit his teeth and clutch his leg tightly.

She had to move him _now_. "There's no time to bandage it up now, but I'm going to lift you up, ok? Easy does it!" And no sooner did she scoop the poor thing into her arms did she hear the cries of stone, rock and wood, and fearful screeches of feral animals and birds in the air. She didn't need to look up to know what it was, by the sounds of purple metal wrinkling and crumbling as it made contact with Rhizomian surface. The young lad held onto Simone tightly.

She was off and running towards the other way, towards the professor. The professor waited for Simone and when she reached them, they took off running together. The ship behind them seemed to have become a monster of the brown sea, swimming rapidly out of primal hunger and petty revenge against the land dwellers. It was closing in faster and faster, its mangled bow resembling a giant mouth and threatening to swallow them up whole...if the ground underneath them didn't swallow them up first.

Everything with green life was being eaten and crushed by the monster's weight, and both Ranger and Rhizomians knew that if they didn't do something quick, they would suffer the same fate as the trees, bushes and other forms of organic life.

Simone had to think quickly; she had to save Triffid and the young lad in her arms, but how could she get them out of danger? She couldn't use her jet pack, not when that would mean leaving behind Triffid and see him risk his life to go up against Zurg, if he decided to come out. But knowing Zurg's twisted mind and reputation, Simone would have no doubts about the possibility. She couldn't let Triffid, or the scientist in her arms, take those risks.

And what of her teammates? She hoped wherever they were, they weren't too far from meeting up with her.

"Hey, over here!"

They looked over and saw Elana!...driving in what appeared to be a blue-and-green vine made vehicle that resembled a stylized hovercraft/jeep hybrid of some sorts and treading through the area at lightning speed as if she were hellfire on wheels.

"Elana?!"

Ignoring Simone, Elana yelled, "Get in quickly!" Elana slowed the vehicle down to give the three access to climb in. Simone hopped on and carefully laid the Rhizomian down onto the backseat. While she looked over the wound again, Triffid called shotgun and buckled himself up.

Simone would have to make do to take care of the injury by using whatever was around her to heal the cut. Before she could even lay a glance around the strange jeep, Elana seemed to have read her mind.

"If you want the bandages and ointment, they're in a first-aid kit underneath your seat. The ointment's in the blue tube."

With that handy tip, Simone fished for the kit and found the white box. She opened it up and found what she was looking for-bandages and ointment. She opened the tube and squeezed it, and out came the silvery blue liquid. Simone gently rubbed it over the cut. Once that was done, she unrolled the roll and teared off the appropriate length needed for the injury. She picked up an adhesive bandage and placed it over the cut before patting it into place.

There. Done. She smiled at the Rhizomian, who in turn, awarded her with a grateful smile.

But the moment would end when the young scientist frowned and realized out loud, "Hey... I don't hear anything anymore."

Elana slowed her hovercraft/jeep down, its power waning in relief. Everyone gingerly turned their heads to see what became of the Dreadnought.

Zurg's ship was spewing out smoke and exhaustion like a tired flame down to its last breath. It lay there on its side, crushed and defeated as though its prey escaped its clutches. Thankfully, no fires broke out, but there was still the chance of the resting monster and its creator rising again.

Simone would have taken the fires over Zurg. But in this case, she had to take the other option.

She leapt out of the vehicle.

She quietly told the Rhizomian group to go while they still had the chance. Sure that they would listen to her, she slowly moved towards the vessel. Gracefully and calmly as a big cat, she moved.

Her hand hovered over her wrist laser, prepared to fire in case _he_ appeared.

Through the unbroken grass she paced herself.

Her heart beat, but her body stayed calm.

Her breath threatened to jump out of her mouth, but she steadied herself.

Finally, she came to a safe halt and distance away from the spacecraft.

Her glare tightened, her stance open for fighting.

Her laser, although not yet fired, glowed a bright red, resting and holding its power back until its owner said otherwise.

Steady...

Wait...

He'll come...

A chorus of gasps echoed behind her, breaking her concentration.

"Ranger, look out above you!"

She looked up and all Ranger protocol drained from her face.

The mystery vessel was coming in fast, and she was able to get up close and personal with it-it was a silver and strangely disk-shaped ship.

On instinct, she activated her jetpack and took off into the air before yelling at the Rhizomians, "GO, MOVE, MOVE!"

And they did, with Simone acting as a guardian angel over them. She flew above them to shield them from the incoming ship.

But she didn't get very far.

When the disk-shaped object finally crashed into the earth, it tore apart sections and sections of trees and other remnants of earth, sending the debris flying towards the direction of the small group.

The Rhizomian Simone helped earlier warned, "Ranger, behind you! Look out!"

Simone made the mistake of turning around to see a flying round and brown object coming right for her.

Before she could dodge out of the way, the rock hit her jet pack. Hard.

The rock destroyed her pack and she was sent spiraling down. She screamed on the way down before making direct contact with the ground. She tumbled and tumbled as though she were thrown in a washing machine.

Finally, she came to a complete and abrupt stop against a tree.

She found herself seeing black and she thought no more.

* * *

 **A/N:** Whoo! Another update! Enjoy and have happy days. :)


	9. Chapter 9

For some time, they couldn't move a muslce, as if afraid that one wrong move could cost them their lives.

"Groomer, my dear...are you alright?"

Gingerly, Groomer nodded. "Aye, sir. But I'm not sure I can say the same for our ship. It's wrecked!"

Parvo waved it off. "Oh, pish posh. We'll be able to get it up and running. After all, we have all the time now with those Rovers gone." He flashed her a devious smile to which she weakly returned. "But right now, we need to see where we landed. If we're anywhere near civilization, I don't want any unnecessary attention placed on us if the world knows what we did."

"Yes, sir. I'll see if I can get our systems up and running again."

"Good. In the meantime, I need to go and get some air. That last fall was a DOOZY, was it not?" He coughed and hacked as if to make that point clear.

"Aye, it was. Do ye need me to go with you?"

He shook his head. "No, no, that won't be necessary. It'll just be like stepping outside on the porch. Just a quick breathe of fresh air to clear out the old grey matter and then I'll come right back in. But if you see anything, sound the alarm and I'll come back in. Are we clear?"

She smiled. "Crystal, sir."

He patted her before taking off. Stepping over broken equipment parts, he made it to one of his ship's hatches to the outside world. He opened the hatch with a turn of a handle, a steamy hiss emanating from it.

He stuck his head out like a groundhog. And when he saw where he was...

"Oh my... Groomer! I need you up here now!"

* * *

Falling from space was bad enough, but to suddenly crash and be spun around like a frisbee disk made falling through Parvo's portal seem like a pleasant cruise down a local road.

From the outside, debris and other objects flew out of their path, but they were spiraling out of control so quickly that they couldn't see exactly what kind of damage the ship was causing. They held onto their seats and seat belts tightly, hoping, and perhaps even praying, up to the heavenly dogs that the nightmare would stop and they would survive the encounter. Their screams alone were their prayers.

But as if a guardian angel named Charlie was smiling upon them, the ship began to slow down and cease its hellish speed.

They slowed down.

Slowed down.

Down.

The spinning stopped, the sounds of metal groaning against earth died and the dust settled, rising in the air as a sweet and merciful silence overtook everyone from the narrowing seconds that passed.

Much to the Rovers' relief, the roller coaster ride was over. But the impact of the crash left everyone dumbfounded, too shaken to speak up. They just survived nearly being hit by a strange purple ship they didn't recognize and flying through a portal that took them to... who knows where, and now everything was quiet again.

Each of them began to breathe again, taking advantage of the calm moment even if they weren't entirely sure the horrendous ride had passed.

But somebody had to say something to break up the silence and assure them all that yes, they had survived and they were here in the flesh...er, fur.

And so Hunter did. "Well... I'm glad that's over...but that was ONE heck of a ride! Who wants to do it again?"

But he immediately shrunk down in his seat as the other Rovers glared daggers and fangs at him. He grinned sheepishly and held up his hands. "Just a little joke! Y'know, to help lighten the mood. We made it alive, right?"

Colleen crossed her arms as she grunted away her irritation as the feeling of relief was soured thanks to Hunter's attempt to make a horrible joke out of the whole thing. "Sure. Can't say the same for our ship though. I wager we took out a bloody good chunk of the whole neighborhood." Out the window, Colleen could see where the ship crash-landed. The place resembled a fantastical garden of some sorts, the kind that'd make her fellow Road Rover Primrose Queens green with envy...literally.

Giant beanstalk-like plants not unlike a certain fairy tale stood in line with their giant-giant?!-dandelion comrades while the loose branches of willow-like trees bended in a gentle breeze that momentarily passed through. Smaller creatures like butterflies fluttered over the ship, no longer afraid of the spacecraft. Flowers of the wildest hues and shades of colors decorated the landscape, next to the broken bits and pieces of wreckage from earth and metal. But besides the debris, this whole place seemed a like a good spot for relaxation and a day at a picnic, with its picturesque warmth and stillness.

Or for running around, but that was a normal dog thing to do on a daily basis anyway.

One eyebrow perked in curiosity at the bewildering sight of this massive floral arrangement. "Huh. This place looks like a postcard I sent to one of my brothers once. Although now the postcard doesn't look too fancy compared to... hey..." she frowned as she squinted out the window. "Blimey!"

Hunter frowned at Colleen's sudden exclamation. Normally she had the uncanny ability to keep calm most of the time in whatever life threw at the Alpha Rovers, but whenever she reacted with concern or dread, that was a sign that something was wrong. "What is it, Colleen? What do you see?"

"Huntie, looks like somebody's hurt!"

Each of the Rovers followed Colleen's eye of sight and to their alarm, there was indeed someone injured. A human woman wearing white and green armor (and wings?) of some sort lying against a tree, her lifeless head hanging over her shoulder like a rag doll. Although the Rovers couldn't make out how badly injured she was, nobody wanted to take any chances that her injuries were mild and light.

So they snapped into action.

Colleen turned to Shag. "Shag, let's get out there and do our thing!"

Shag nodded. "I'llgetyourmedicalbag!" He gave a quick salute before unbuckling his seatbelt and ran to the back of the ship to find Colleen's bag.

"Good idea, Colleen! In the meantime, Exile, Blitz and me'll take a look at the ship from the outside and figure out where we are. Rovers, let's unbuckle and get to sniffin' for clues." The other Rovers began to unbuckle their seats, but just as they were getting up, Blitz suddenly froze as he stared out the window.

"Hunter, I think I know where we are!"

Hunter blinked before grinning. "Really? Cool! Where are we, Blitz?"

"Not any place I know anymore. Look!" He pointed to where the unconscious woman lay, where she was approached by-

* * *

"Elana, is she alright?"

From the safety of the vehicle, Triffid and the young Rhizomian watched Elana hop out and approach Simone to check up on her. Elana gingerly approached the unconscious Ranger near the tree. When she was close enough, Elana kneeled down and looked Simone over, and she didn't look too good.

Her dark hair bangs obscured her face, but Elana could see clods of dirt splattering Simone's face peeking through her hair. The dirt tarnished her delicate features, but that wasn't the worst of it. What was the worst of it was not a matter of brown earth, but of a red liquid dripping down the woman's temple.

Elana gently drew away Simone's strands of hair from her face and she gasped softly.

A cut as large as her thumbnail drew itself onto the woman's pale face near her left eye. "Craters... she needs help."

Unsure of what they just heard, the two Rhizomians in the hovercraft/jeep glanced to each other in confusion. Triffid asked, "What did you say? I couldn't catch that."

Elana's features hardened. She stood up from the ground, keeping her side turned away from her vegetarian comrades and smoothed out her dress. Once she was done, she sighed and faced the two Rhizomians head-on.

But just as she was about to repeat herself-

A boyish voice called out, "Hey, stop right there!"

That yell prompted all three Rhizomians to freeze and look up.

The young Rhizomian started shaking with fear at whatever was coming for them. Triffid could only reach out and pat him on the shoulder to ease him of his fears. Although Triffid had his own sense of bravery about him, he was not exactly Space Ranger material and they had to leave _now_ with Simone and the cordial intact.

Seeming to know what he was thinking, Elana spread herself into a defensive position in front of the unconscious Simone. Arms out, legs spread out, wariness on her features. Out of the corner of her eye, she urged the Rhizomians, "Go."

Although Triffid seemed hesitant to leave her there, he had to comply. But the younger Rhizomian spoke up to mirror his own bafflement. "What?! What are _you_ going to do, Dendrite?"

In a strangely calm tone, she assured, "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. I'll look after Ranger Caldera, but I need you to make sure the cordial is out of Zurg's hands. Find Team Parsec and bring them here. Contact Star Command if you have to. Just get out of here and be safe."

"But-"

"Go! Zurg could come out of his ship at any minute!" She turned back to face...whatever was out there.

That made up Triffid's mind. "She's right, my young friend. We need to leave _now_. Elana, I can help you carry Ranger Caldera into the seat and look after her while you drive."

The same boyish voice called out, "Oh, no, no you're so NOT! You're not going anywhere. Not until you...whatever you guys are, tell us what you did to that woman there!"

Appearing out of the green shadows, the Rhizomians were suddenly surrounded by five dog-like humanoid creatures. Four of them wore similar protective armor not unlike those used by the Space Ranger Corps. However, the outfits were not colored snow white, but were colored a sleek grayish silver, with a dark gray layer of clothing worn underneath. Imprinted on their bright red belts were strange and golden poppy-colored RR initials. And like Pix, the dog creatures donned collars, only they were bright red with gold tags to match their belts.

One dog's fur was completely golden yellow, its floppy ears alert.

One dog's fur was auburn and white, its floppy ears relaxed.

One dog's fur was ranging between light grayish and icy blue, its pointed ears wary.

One dog's fur was black and tan, its pointed ears low in suspicion.

The only one who didn't wear the armor was the largest one of the whole pack, for its bulky size and excess amount of beige-whitish fur seemed to deem the outfit and collar unnecessary.

They were no members of Star Command, and they didn't look friendly, whoever, and whatever, they were.

Elana gripped her hands and crouched down low, as if preparing to run. Just as it looked like she was going to make a move, however, she glanced over at one of the dog creatures carrying something in its hand and her face slightly dropped its wariness. "You're the medic?"

Equally surprised, the creature turned to one of its companions, the dog with the auburn fur.

"That depends. Didja hurt that woman behind you?"

So the auburn one was a female dog with an English accent. And an accusatory one to boot. Elana narrowed her eyes in indignation. But before she could defend herself, the young Rhizomian blurted out, "No, she didn't! It was the Evil Emperor Zurg!...hey you're not agents of Zurg, are you?!"

..."Who?"

* * *

The ship looked like it had survived a rough experience through a blender. Lifeless Hornets, decimated and taken apart, littered the bridge. Grubs, tossed and turned from their seats, were the lucky ones; they managed to recover from the horrific plight.

But the evil emperor didn't appear that way; sprawled out on the floor, the bucket-headed emperor was passed out.

A small group of Grubs curiously and slowly approached the unconscious emperor.

One of them dared to come closer.

"My evil emperor... oh evil one... are you still alive?...ULP!"

"YES. I. AM. VERY. MUCH. **ALIVE**!" Zurg could have squeezed the life out of his Grub had he been in a truly foul mood. His mood right now, however, was in a testy state. As exemplified by the Grub who was suddenly thrown into a squealing bug pile.

Zurg picked himself up off the floor and dusted his robe off. "Damage report, NOW!"

Yelping in dread, the Grubs disentangled themselves from the pile and quickly went over to the controls. After a quick scan or two, one measly Grub piped up, "The hull has been damaged the most, but other than that, the ship is intact."

"Well then, what are you waiting for?! Get to work, you stinking pieces of flesh! No time to dilly-dailly!"

But the Grubs didn't move. Instead they shuffled on their feet. "Uh...there's one other thing, oh evil one."

Zurg crossed his arms, impatient."What is it?"

"...One of the ships that nearly crashed into the Dreadnought is right outside and it's down for the count." The Grubs shriveled in fear as they awaited their emperor's wrath.

"What?!...hmm..." The emperor tapped his metal green teeth in thought.

Tap tap tap.

The Grubs dared to look past their fear and glance up at the emperor, secretly glad he wasn't going to engage them in his wrath... or so they hoped.

"At least that's no longer a concern. They can't get me now, whoever they were... but I don't want to take any foolish chances. It'd make me look like an irresponsible ruler if I didn't inspect who they were, you know." Zurg cleared his throat and firmly ordered, "Grubs! Fix the ship and get it back in the air this instant! I want to know what kind of unruly tourists we've got roaming around the galaxy."

"But Evil Emperor Zurg, what about Warp Darkmatter and the cordial?"

Zurg paused; he wouldn't admit it to his measly workers but he completely forgot about his agent and that confounded cordial. That cordial was probably in the safe hands of the Rhizomians and Darkmatter was probably on his way to Star Command by now with Team Parsec taking him into custody...

Unless...

"Is our spy drone still functional?"

After a quick calculation, the Grub confirmed, "Yes, your Evilness."

"Good! Show me what it sees."

What it saw was what Zurg had suspected.

* * *

They were closing in on the danger sight. Ty and Pix dragged an irritated Warp along as they raced over to the scene of the crash. Throughout the whole way, Ty and Pix kept a sharp eye on the Saphiran/human.

Although Pix wasn't as familiar with him as Ty was, she had a feeling that Warp was smarter than he looked and would use any opportunity he could to weasel his way out of his predicament.

All the more reason for them to keep him in their grasp and for her to be near with a mouth open and teeth ready to bite.

From out of nowhere, a wave of panicking Rhizomians flooded the trio's path.

Ty and Pix shared quick glances as they recognized the Rhizomians as the same group of scientists they met that morning.

Warp noted this and with a smirk, asked, "Friends of yours?" He only grew his smirk when the Rangers glared at him in silence.

Keeping his grip on Warp, Ty tried to ask one of the speeding Rhizomians, "Hey! What's goin' on?! Where are you all running to?!"

He managed to get one of the Rhizomians to stop temporarily and hastily answer his question. "Two ships have just crashed! We're heading off to headquarters for shelter!"

"Did you see Triffid or Ranger Caldera?"

"Yes, they were right behind us, but they had to stay and help one of our own who was injured, but I'm sure that they're probably on their way to the shelter too!"

"Do you know if they have the cordial?"

The Rhizomian shook his head. "Not that I know of. I know I don't have it." And the Rhizomian took off again.

* * *

"I knew it! Ranger Caldera is not with her teammates. She must be with Triffid somewhere. And the spy drone didn't show any of those veggie lovers carrying that cordial. Hmm..."

Another tap tap tap of the teeth. And then his face lit up.

"Then wherever Triffid and Ranger Caldera might be, then the cordial must be with them!" Zurg rubbed his hands in evil glee. "Which means I can pull off a double duty: retrieve that cordial AND deal with every busy nobody around. Grubs! Dispatch another spy drone and a small hive of Hornets! I want to find that cordial sometime today!"

* * *

Ty and Pix looked at each other again, this time in dread. If Triffid and Simone had stayed behind where the ships crashed-! They simultaneously shouted, "We gotta help them!"

"Correction; _you two_ gotta help them." It was then Warp grinned wickedly as he hatched up a plan. " _I_ have a job to finish."

Without warning, he shoved Ty into the path of an oncoming Rhizomian. The collision sent the two of them falling down, with the sounds of mechanical equipment raining down and breaking into many pieces.

But Pix intervened and was about to bite Warp when he beat her to the punch. Hard.

Clasping both hands together, he managed to create a fist so large enough to hit her head that it sent Pix swinging like a tether ball on a trip around the universe. She landed roughly onto her side in the dirt. His double fisted punch was strong enough to stun Pix as she laid there, unmoving. But just to make sure she didn't get up after him again, he kicked her in the head.

But he underestimated just how fast this dog could recover. Even if she was dazed, she still managed to get up and retain the stamina to try and bite down on Warp's leg.

By this time, Ty got to his feet, helped the Rhizomian he bumped into up from the ground and help them get running again, and then attempted to regain his grip on Warp by grabbing his arms.

Already struggling to get himself free from Ty's hold, Warp gritted his teeth as Pix's bite pierced through his boot and into his skin. It wasn't a deep bite, or he hoped, but by Venus, it hurt like a mothership!

She was already trying to drag him down again towards the dirt...

That's when he noticed; dirt!

Seeing the dry and earthy substance beneath him, he scooped up a handful and blew some of it into the faces of the Rangers. This time, both dog and human were so completely taken off-guard that they briefly stumbled around like young and newborn fawns. Warp kicked Ty in their stomach and then kicked Pix in the head and that's when he made a break for it.

He took off like a bullet towards the opposite direction where Zurg's ship supposedly crashed.

Recovering fast from the kick to his stomach, Ty wiped off the dry substance from his face and turned to his stunned dog on the ground lying nearby. He carefully patted her and rolled her onto her stomach. With concern, he asked, "Pix! Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

At Ty's voice, she cracked open one eye and stared up at him. "Ty?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." She managed to climb back onto her feet and growled in the direction Warp took off. "Just mad and ready to sink my teeth into that creep's leg again!"

Glad that his dog seemed okay, Ty sighed and assured, "Now hang on there; we'll get him. But don't you go biting down on his leg again unless you really have to. C'mon!"

Pix took off, following Ty's heels. She shot him a stink eye as they ran. "Don't I kinda have to do that in _this_ case? I mean he's attacked both of us TWICE and he's headin' towards-"

Ty grunted. "I _know_ where he's heading, Pix. But we have to make sure we get there first before he does or else we can't help Simone and Triffid and that injured Rhizomian. That's why I want you to just _run. Run_ ahead of me and beat him there. You see where I'm goin' with this? _"_

"But can't I just-"

"No! No more biting. Besides, you'll only be wasting time if you focus on him!"

Pix's upper lip curled into a sneer. "No, I wouldn't! I'd be able to stall him while you'd get to Simone and Triffid!"

Ty glared. "Hey, you're faster than I am, remember?! I can catch up to Warp!"

"And then what will ya do then if you caught him?! Zurg could still be lurkin' nearby and ready to blast our heads off if we hand that creep over!"

"Or he could be where Simone and Triffid are located and he could already have them in HIS own custody! Which is why you have to be the first one there, Pix!"

"But-!"

A fiery explosion like that from some kind of bomb whistled through the air before sending a reverberating boom throughout the area.

Both Rangers froze out of their argument and realized something was out there in the green.

Ty and Pix both turned to each other and exchanged nods. It was undoubtably Darkmatter heading deeper into the undergrowth to evade their capture. But he wouldn't get away this time!

"Pix, go get 'em!"

"With pleasure!" And Pix took off.

* * *

Hunter said, "Hey look, we don't know who this Evil Emperor Zorg is-"

Elana scowled at him. "Not Evil Emperor Zorg, Evil Emperor ZURG, the galaxy's most dangerous crime lord." She eyed Colleen pointedly, "And if you're a medic like I assume you are, then you'd better come look at Ranger Caldera _now!_ She has a cut near her left eye. I don't think she has a concussion, but better to be safe than sorry. _Right?_ "

Colleen gave this strange giraffe-eared being some credit: she was very straight to the point. And she was right too. Ranger Caldera-whoever she was working for whether it was NASA or maybe the United States Army Rangers-was hurt and in need of medical attention. Very tightly, she agreed, "Right then. Shag here and I'll take a look at 'er now. C'mon, Shag."

The two of them could feel her eyes watching them as they approached Simone. Colleen and Shag kneeled down near the woman and looked her over. Just as she was told, there was a nasty cut near Simone's eye.

"Shag, I need the small bottle of water and a small hand cloth to stop the bleedin'." Once she was given the items, she set about cleaning up Simone's cut.

Elana sighed a small breath of relief, if only because Simone was going to be alright. Besides that, she didn't know what to think of these two-legged mongrels.

Hunter blinked after the whole exchange. He knew that the human was in good hands with Colleen and Shag, but what about these weirdo gazelle people? "Uh...right. Whatever he's called, we're not agents of this Evil Emperor Zurg or whatever ya call him. We're the Road Rovers. You've heard of us, right?" Hunter flashed her a friendly smile in hopes that she'd let down her guard.

Instead, it only served to provoke her confusion. "What? The Road Rovers? I've never heard of you. And neither have they." She motioned to Triffid and the younger Rhizomian.

This was, needless to say, somewhat of a shock towards the pack. They had traveled around many parts of the world and everywhere they went, they were generally recognized for what they were. So where were they where they weren't known?

" _Chto_? You never heard of Road Rovers? What is your name, miss?"

Elana eyed Exile curiously. He was just as curious as she was now becoming. "Er...my name's Elana Dendrite. That's Professor Wyndham Triffid over there and with him is-"

"Really not important anymore because _I'm_ here."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and spiraled around to meet a very cocky, blue-faced and armed agent pointing his arm cannon right at them.

Elana glowered. "Warp Darkmatter!"

"That's right; I'm back and better than ever, and free from being handcuffed and taken back to good ol' Star Command. Speaking of which... it looks like I won't have to worry about Simone over there taking me in. Looks like she's got other things on her mind."

Elana, Shag and Colleen immediately hovered over Simone as soon as Warp's arm cannon pointed over to her.

Although the Rovers didn't know who this guy was, or where in the world he lived in to have a not-so-inconspicuous name like Warp Darkmatter, they were already disliking the guy.

" _You_ leave her alone, Darkmatter. Your fight's with us!"

Warp wasn't all that impressed with Elana's attempt to scare him away. "With _you_? A Rhizomian?" He scoffed at the very thought. " _Please_. I'm more interested in the new playmates you have with you. So you Zordogians decided to come by and take over Rhizome? Sorry, but that's Zurg's game."

Shag and Colleen stayed near Simone to protect her while Elana, Hunter, Blitz and Exile all assumed fighting positions. The other two Rhizomians stayed in the vehicle, wary and stiff.

Hunter fired back, "Hey, first off, we're NOT Zordoogians or what you said! But if you want to play a game, let's play catch! Shag, the missile launcher!"

Quickly reaching deep into his fur, much to the respective surprise and slight disgust of Elana and Warp, the sheepdog pulled out a grey arrow-shaped missile launcher.

With lightning fast reflexes, he aimed it at Warp.

And fired on the spot.

" **Whoa!** " Warp dived out of the way and in place of where he was last standing, the missile exploded into a small but glorious blaze, leaving behind scorched earth and a large patch of rising smoke from a large crater.

Now was Elana's chance. She looked to the hovercraft/jeep and pointed towards the opposite direction with a message in her eyes.

They hesitated, but they understood.

Deciding that now was the perfect time to leave with the cordial, Triffid and his young friend hurriedly took control of the hovercraft/jeep and shot off the other way. Warp attempted to chase after them, but he found himself getting cold feet.

"Huh?!" He looked down to see his own feet and legs encased in blocks of...ice?! He turned around to see one of the dogs grinning deviously at him with glowing and icy blue eyes.

That was pretty impressive and shocking. Warp had heard of laser vision, but ice vision was a new power altogether.

"I think that will keep you busy, no?" Exile placed a hefty hand on Darkmatter's arm to keep him from doing anything else but squirming under the dog's strong hold. Craters, his hold was stronger than Parsec's! Not to mention he was starting to develop a small case of chills.

"Great job, Exile! That'll _cool_ him down for awhile!" Hunter snickered. Although this did earn him a few disapproving looks from Blitz, Colleen and Elana, he asserted, "What? It was the only ice pun I can think of."

Blitz rolled his eyes. But just as he was about to whip out a sarcastic remark, he stiffened. One of his ears twitched. "Hey...I hear something, Hunter. It's coming from over there. _Ja_ , I do hear it." He pointed off in the direction he supposedly heard the noise.

"Really? Well, check it out, Blitz! Don't leave us in the dark about what it is!"

"Why do you think I brought it up?! Sheesh." He opened up his hands and unsheathed a rather large set of claws, one of his signature abilities. After matching an evil eye with Darkmatter's, Blitz stepped forward and used the smoke as his own personal smokescreen.

He slowly approached, claws at the ready.

He waited.

"Gotcha, Darkmatter!"

And he was suddenly taken down by a soccer ball flying through the smoke.

A blue and fuzzy soccer ball named Pix.

He growled and prepared to slash with his claws.

She growled and bared her fangs and pressed down on his shoulders with her weight to keep him from moving.

But they both paused and gaped in surprise when they realized-

In unison, they shouted, "Hey, you're a dog!... And you can talk?!"

Blitz couldn't believe it-a talking pure canine who could somehow talk without using her mouth?!

Pix couldn't believe it-an actual talking dog creature who could stand on two legs?!

Elana grinned in delight. "Pix! I'm glad to see you. But where's Ranger Parsec?"

"Right behind her!"

And to the Rovers' surprise, another human in the similar white armor Simone was wearing appeared from the smoke and ready to fight. With hand over wrist, Ty aimed it at Darkmatter. "And as I said before, you're...under arrest...?"

Ty noticed the Rovers, Warp, Elana and Pix staring at him. Or in Warp's case, glaring at him while he...was stuck in a couple of ice cubes. Alrighty then.

That's when he also noticed Simone, unconscious and near the tree.

Pix also noticed Simone. "Simone!" She hopped off of Blitz and jogged over to see her. Upon approaching her, she slowed down when she saw Colleen and Shag with the medical bag. She looked between them and Simone and then back to them again, and already she was understanding what kind of injury Simone was sustaining.

She turned to Ty and explained, "She has a really bad cut near her eye, Ty!"

Ty threw a black look down Warp's way. In a tone much more colder than Warp's own icy state, he clenched his fists and dangerously warned, "Darkmatter, if _you're_ the one who did that to her, I'll-"

Despite the chills, Warp managed to snap, "W-What?! Y-You think _I_ did that to Simone?! I d-didn't hurt her, Parsec! She was like that when I got here!"

Although Elana would have been glad to see Darkmatter sent off to PC-17 for something he didn't do, she knew that wasn't the right thing to do, especially when it concerned one of Ty's own teammates. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but he's right, Ranger Parsec." At Ty's shocked face, she elaborated and pointed to the scene of the event, as if illustrating a picture for him to visualize. "She was helping me and Triffid protect another Rhizomian, who was injured, and the cordial when she took flight. Her jet pack was hit by a piece of flying debris that sent her flying and crashing into that tree and...well, knocked her out like that."

Colleen and Shag, who by then decided to go back and tend to Simone's wounds, both looked at each other, cringing as they realized the possible cause of Simone's injury.

So they wordlessly continued to heal up Simone as best they could without looking at any one of their fellow Rovers.

But Colleen would glance over her shoulder to say to Ty, "It's true, Ranger. We saw her injured and decided to look her over. Shag and I here are medics. We'll have her patched up in no time."

"WeboththoughtthatshehurttheRanger."

The non-canine folk, save for Pix, who settled for a glare and a set of gritted teeth, all looked at each other in bewilderment.

Elana frowned. "What did he say?"

"He said they thought that you-!"

"Pix!"

Pix stopped when she heard Ty address her.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to fight off an incoming headache. "Look, we'll talk about this later. It's okay. Right now, I just need to know a few things. The first thing is Simone." He then addressed Colleen and Shag, "Will she pull through?"

"She'll be right as rain, guv. In fact, she's comin' around now."

Indeed, the Sleeping Beauty was awakening from her slumber. Her face scrunched up with pain as she groaned from the heavy fall. Slowly she began to force herself to sit up. Pushing herself onto her arms, Colleen and Shag both helped her steady herself.

Colleen smiled a bit as Simone rubbed her forehead. "Take it easy there, hon. You've had a busy day. You're lucky you only suffered a cut to the forehead."

"...Just a cut? Is that all? Well, thank you for your help." After rubbing the side of her head to ease the pain temporarily, Simone blinked and looked over at the person who helped her sit up. It was a...dog? Or a Zordogian female dog-like organic of some sorts?

"Don't sweat it. Your name's Simone Caldera?"

Simone blinked. "Uh...yes. Yes, that's my name."

"Well, Simone, my name's Colleen. I'm Colleen Collie. And this here is Shag Sheepdog."

Simone blinked again at Shag's size. "Uh...hello."

Shag gave a friendly smile back.

"So...what exactly happened? All I know is that I...I..." She looked past them to see Ty and Pix standing some odd feet away from her, clearly relieved that she seemed alright. Next to Ty was Warp Darkmatter caught not in his own web of lies, but in blocks of ice. Standing with him were three more Zordogian creatures, all of whom had differences in fur color and features.

"Ty...what's going on here?...And where's Triffid?!"

* * *

They pushed the hovercraft/jeep down to its speed limit, moving past flora and not once looking back. They hurried past tree after bush after tree and after bush again. The ride was swift and quiet.

Both of them both felt bad for leaving Elana and Ranger Caldera back there with that awful Darkmatter, but at least they'd be safe with those mysterious dog-like fighters. It was clear to both of them that they definitely weren't working for Zurg, so that was a big relief at the very least. And at least they managed to get away with that cordial.

Or so they thought.

Whir. Whirring. A hive of whirring noises suddenly surrounded them and they were forced to stop.

And their feeling of hope hardened into one of dread.

Hornets!

And the dread grew into terror as their master appeared out of the sky.

"Gotcha! And now that cordial is mine!" Zurg's chilling laugh paralyzed their hearts.

* * *

"General, what do we do?"

"Hmm..." Parvo was tapping his thick chin as he surveyed the scene of what promised to be an interested scene between the tall purple fellow and those strange and meek gazelle people. Even if the Groomer and Parvo didn't know what was going on here, or where they were, they were certainly interested in knowing more about this place. And they could use some help in repairing the ship, with what gear and tools they needed were in low supply due to damage or a lack therefore of.

So there was one thing to do.

"Is there a way to camouflage our ship?"

"Funny you should ask. That was one of the new features I installed in earlier today before we took off into space."

Parvo grinned. "Excellent! If it still works, then enable it and then lock up the ship from any trespassers. It's time we welcomed ourselves into the neighborhood."

"On it!"

As soon as the ship disappeared into the green with its vibrant green hues and coolness, Parvo and Groomer took what functioning weapons they had in their ship's arsenal and took to slithering through the fields.

But unbeknownst to them, a certain unexpected visitor was watching them from afar.  
Snarling with suspicion, the visitor decided to follow after them, bouncing through the terrain like a top.

Their main reason? To avenge their fellow Road Rovers and take out his fury on them. After all...

That was one talent Muzzle took great pride in.

* * *

 **A/N:** And at last, the Rangers and Rovers meet! Yaaaaay! Just a few things out of the way:

Primrose Queens is an OFC I created for the Road Rovers.

Quite a few references in this chapter! And whew! So many things going on. I'm glad this chapter is done though.

Enjoy!


End file.
